Frozen 3 Fire Demon's Curse
by kschwake1
Summary: A continuation of my story "Frozen 2". A problem will arise with Kristian and Elsa will attempt to solve it. Advisory: Since I am posting this as I am writing, it could be a few weeks between chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Frozen 3

_Fire Demon's Curse_

Many things have occurred in Arendelle over the past year. The most important of these events have involved the Queen of Arendelle. Less than a year ago, Elsa had her coronation that made her queen. That would have been special enough, but what makes Elsa unique is her ability to control the cold and the snow. Initially, this ability caused some problems when it was revealed during the day of Elsa's coronation. However, thanks to the love of her sister Anna, the people of Arendelle have come to accept Elsa's powers as part of her. Since then, the people of Arendelle have come to love and even enjoy this uniqueness of their queen.

Several months had passed and Queen Elsa had shown her people many wondrous things with her magic. Every celebration had an amazing display that was always put on by the queen. The spring celebration was no exception. However, the spring celebration had also brought danger and romance for Queen Elsa.

Two men were hired to do away with the queen. One man was named Goran, while the younger man was named Kristian. Goran had intended to drive Elsa out of the village, but his plan was going to take time. So Goran had Kristian keep an eye on the queen. It was during this time that Kristian had gotten to know Queen Elsa. Then when the fateful day came where Goran confronted Elsa, Kristian sided with Elsa. It was a difficult decision for Kristian to make because it meant that he had to give up everything that he knew and the security that he had. However, since Elsa had spent time with Kristian, she had come to know Kristian. Elsa had forgiven Kristian his associations and even offered him a place to stay. Eventually, Kristian accepted the offer to stay a while.

Initially Kristian had decided to stay for a month, but that month extended into almost three. Kristian had come to enjoy this sense of freedom he was getting in Arendelle. Before, Kristian was nearly always hidden away. This is because Kristian was unique as well. Where Elsa had magic over the cold and snow, Kristian had magic over the heat and fire. It was thanks to Elsa's acceptance of Kristian that has allowed Kristian to openly live in Arendelle.

There were also other reasons why Kristian had decided to stay in Arendelle. Kristian had found friends there. Besides getting close with Elsa, Kristian had formed a friendship with Elsa's sister Anna and Anna's boyfriend Kristoff. However, the strangest friendship that Kristain had formed in Arendelle was the friendship that he made with a snowman named Olaf. With Kristian's power over fire and Olaf being a living snowman, most people thought their relationship would end badly for Olaf. Yet Olaf continued to hang around Kristian without a care in the world about the potential danger.

While this sense of freedom and his new friends where strong reasons for Kristian to stay, the emotional attraction that Kristian had for Elsa had been the strongest reason of all. Initially, Kristian had feared getting close to Elsa. After all, she had the power over snow and ice, and he had power over fire. Kristian thought that their contrasting powers would mean trouble. However, when Elsa found out about Kristian's abilities, she had a much different reaction than Kristian expected.

Despite the risk that Kristian's magic powers presented, Elsa was willing to take a risk to get to know Kristian. Elsa's willingness to take this chance eventually led to a strong and unexpected connection between Kristian and Elsa, a connection that has continued to expand for the last few months.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on which way you look at it, Kristian had delayed his return trip home longer than he had first planned. Now it is nearly the beginning of summer, and Kristian can't afford to wait any longer. Kristian had talked to Elsa about his need to return home, and Elsa had arranged for a ship to take him on his journey.

Now it was the morning of Kristian's departure. Elsa has always gotten herself up early, so that she could do some work in private. However this morning, Elsa has gotten up even before the sun was peaking over the horizon. Elsa wasn't about to miss every opportunity that she had with Kristian, on his final day in Arendelle.

Down in the dining room, Elsa quickly eats her breakfast, before she goes to the official state room. Once there, Elsa leads a very early meeting with members of her royal court. Elsa keeps this meeting very short and she postpones a few items on the agenda till this evening or even until tomorrow. Finally, Elsa dismisses the meeting just as the first rays of sunlight begin to reach through the window and shine against the far wall of the room.

With her meeting finished, Elsa now heads to talk privately with the royal treasurer. The royal treasurer has an office in a separate building inside the palace walls. This building houses many of the official offices of the kingdom of Arendelle.

As Elsa enters the treasurer's office, the treasurer greets the queen. "Ah, good morning your majesty. I am surprised to see you in my office so early."

"Good morning Jonathan," replies Elsa. "I know it is early, but I wanted to make sure you had the funds ready that I request."

"I was just about to retrieve those funds," says Jonathan. "If you wish to wait, I can assemble them quickly and have them ready in just a few minutes."

"That is not necessary right now," replies Elsa. "I won't need those funds for a few hours yet. I just want to make sure, that we properly pay Kristian for his services to Arendelle."

"It is quite a hefty sum you are offering this young lad, my queen," says Jonathan. "I do hope he is worth this tribute."

"To me, he is worth ten times this amount; but Kristian would not accept such an offer," replies Elsa. "Still, if you consider how quickly Kristian has helped Arendelle recover from this spring avalanche; he deserves every cent."

"Yes, I would have to agree with you there, your majesty," says Jonathan. "Don't worry. I will make sure everything is prepared before the time the ship leaves the harbor."

"Thank you, Jonathan. I will see you in a little while then," says Elsa as she prepares to leave the treasurer's office.

With her business done with the treasurer, Elsa now heads back to the palace. Once in the palace, Elsa heads to the area in the building where the palace dungeon is located. As Elsa was walking through the stone corridor, she came to a particular cell door. This cell door was partially open. As Elsa reaches this door, she knocks.

"You can come in, Elsa," says a voice from the other side of the door.

Elsa pulls the door open and enters the cell. Inside the cell, Elsa finds Kristian standing over a pack. Kristian had several things laid out on the bed and he was placing things into a pack. On one side of the cell there is a stone ledge about two feet off the floor. A fire is burning on this ledge, and from this fire a firebird's head emerges for a moment before it retreats back into the fire. This firebird's name is Mattias and he is the faithful companion of Kristian.

"How did you know it was me?" asks Elsa as she steps towards Kristian.

Kristian looks over to Elsa, and with a smile replies, "There are only two people who regularly come down here and smell like you do, and only one bothers to get up this early on a regular bases."

Elsa smiles, and then she replies, "Anna does enjoy her morning naps. With the energy she puts out sometimes, she almost needs those naps."

"Ya, sometimes I almost envy the energy that she has; just sometimes," says Kristian with a smile, as he goes back to his packing.

"I know what you mean," replies Elsa. "Sometimes Anna seems to have energy that goes on forever, but she always collapses in the end. Then it is hard to get her going again."

As Elsa was talking, she had moved to the foot of the bed to watch Kristian pack. Then with a slight sigh, Elsa says, "So I guess you are getting ready for your journey."

"Ya, but I think that was already pretty obvious to you," replies Kristian as he temporarily stops his packing to address Elsa.

"I know, I know; but I just wish you wouldn't have to go," says Elsa as she moves away from the bed and then sits down onto a chair against the far wall of the cell.

"I know Elsa, but I have to go," replies Kristian as he sits down on the foot of the bed to talk with Elsa. "I have been holding off leaving for some time now. My old mountain home contains many items that I wish to retrieve; and the longer they stay unattended, the more likely that they would be damaged by the elements."

"I know. Some of those items belong to your mother. I understand why you would want to retrieve them, but I wish that it would not take you so long," says a slightly dejected Elsa. "My one year celebration of my coronation is just over a month away. There is every possibility that you are going to miss that celebration, and I so want you to be there."

Kristian gets up off the bed and walks over to Elsa. He kneels down in front of her, and Kristian stretches out his hand to Elsa. Elsa then reaches out and places her hand into Kristian's hand. "I know there is a chance that I may miss your one year anniversary, but it is almost certain that I was going to miss something," says Kristian. "However, I will return to Arendelle. My old mountain home is safe, but I no longer wish to remain there alone. Since I have been here in Arendelle, you have given me something that I have not had in a long time. You have given me a close friend in you."

Elsa smiles brightly as she looks into Kristian's face. Kristian returns the smile with his own smile. "I'm happy that you are my friend as well, but I don't think that I am the only friend that you have found here in my kingdom," replies Elsa.

"There is no question about that," says Kristian as he lets go of Elsa's hand and stands up. Many people here in Arendelle have shown me kindness and have become friends, no one more so than your sister Anna and Kristoff."

"And Olaf?" adds Elsa with a funny lint in her voice.

"Yes Olaf too," replies Kristian with a smirk on his face. "How can anyone not make friends with that silly snowman?"

Once Kristian had finished speaking, he returns to his bed to finish packing. Elsa, who is now feeling better, stands up and moves to the center of the cell and looks around at the stone walls. "You know, I wish you wouldn't have chosen this jail cell as your bedroom; especially since there are so many nice bedrooms upstairs."

"Elsa, you know why I have chosen to live down here," replies Kristian as he finishes his packing. Then Kristian turns and looks at Elsa. He then says, "A few weeks after I started sleeping in the palace, I accidentally set my bed on fire."

"That was an accident, Kristian," replies Elsa.

"I could have set the whole palace on fire that night," objects Kristian. "If I hadn't awoken when my bed collapsed, more than just that bedroom could have been damaged. I was fortunate that night, that I was able to reverse that fire."

"The damage was minor," replies Elsa. "I would have let you stay in another bedroom if you wanted too."

"I know you would have, but I didn't want to risk doing that again," says Kristian. "I was going to move out into the countryside until Olaf suggested the dungeon. The stone walls here are the best protection against my fire."

"I am happy that you decided to stay in the palace," replies Elsa. "It has made it much easier to get a hold of you when I want to. If you were outside the village, it would have taken some time to find you."

"Elsa, it's not like I have a lot of places to go," says Kristian as he reaches down to pick up his pack and throws it over his back. "I would always be coming here to the palace."

Elsa smiles and then she says cheekily, "I guess you would have to come here to say hello to Olaf."

Kristian smiles and says, "Yes, this is the best place to find him, not to mention another important person in my life."

Elsa and Kristian look at each other with smiles on their faces. For a brief period neither one of them is saying anything. Finally Elsa's eye's go to Kristian's pack. "So have you got everything that you need then?" asks Elsa.

"I've got all my essential traveling supplies right now, and I'll pick up some food along the way," says Kristian as he looks down to the strap of the pack. "So I guess that I am pretty much ready to go."

"Then why don't we head up stairs and wait," suggests Elsa. "Your ship won't be leaving for a little while yet."

"That sounds like a fine idea," replies Kristian.

With Kristian's acceptance of Elsa's idea, Elsa begins to head upstairs. As Elsa nears the door, Kristian lets out a whistle and calls out, "Mattias!" With Kristian's call, the firebird begins to solidify into a solid shape. Then Mattias spreads his wings and flies over to Kristian and lands on Kristian's shoulder. With Mattias on his shoulder, Kristian follows Elsa to a more comfortable place in the palace.

Elsa leads Kristian up to a second floor room that is used by the royal family for casual socializing. Kristian is very familiar with this room. In fact, Kristian has become very familiar with the entire palace over the past few months. In this room, Elsa had a small table moved to the center of the room; and on this table a variety of foods was sitting.

As Kristian enters the room, he stops and stares at the table of food. He wasn't expecting to see it in the room. As Kristian stands there, Mattias flies off of his shoulder and lands on a log that sits in the fireplace. Mattias sets this log on fire and then he makes himself at home in the fireplace. "Did you have this set out for me?" asks Kristian.

Elsa had gone over to the table and she was pouring herself a glass of milk. "I knew you were going to be busy this morning. So I thought that I would make things a little easier and pleasant for you," replies Elsa.

Kristian smiles and walks up to the table. Then Kristian says, "I think you have a bit of an alternative motive here as well."

"Perhaps I do," replies a smiling Elsa as she sits down onto a couch. "Can you blame me for trying to spend as much time with you as I can? You are going to be gone for some time."

As Kristian stands at the table, he assembles a sandwich and pours himself some milk. As he does this, Kristian says, "No, I really can't blame you for doing this; but why here? Why not down in the dining room?"

"Oh the dining room is fine, but I think it is more pleasant up here," replies Elsa. "It is a better place to just sit and talk."

"So what is it that you want to talk about?" asks Kristian as he sits down on the couch as well.

"Well, it's this trip you are going on," replies a slightly hesitant Elsa. "I understand why you need to go back to your mountain. I just don't like the route that you are going to take to get there."

"I understand your concern, but I really don't think you have much to worry about," says Kristian trying to reassure Elsa.

"But you will be heading through the Kingdom of Weselton," objects Elsa. "With the stopping of trade and the permanent exile of the Duke from Arendelle, Weselton could be very dangerous for you. I wish you would take a different route."

"Well I could take a different route, but it would add two to three weeks to my travel time," replies Kristian. "Besides, the Duke and his body guards are about the only people in Weselton that know who I am."

"I do want you to return as soon as possible, but I dislike the idea of you in the center of Weselton," says Elsa.

"I don't like that idea much either," replies Kristian. "That is why I will be landing a few miles past the village itself. There will be fewer people there, and I can pick up supplies in one of the inland villages then. Once I get away from the coast, I should have no problems. Then it will be about a two week walk inland to get to my old home."

"It's going to take you 2 to 3 weeks then to get there," inquires Elsa. "And will it take you as long to get back to Arendelle?"

"It will take at least that long to get back," replies Kristian. "However, I am going to need to add a week on getting back. I'll be heading there light, but I will be coming back with several items. Those items are going to be slowing me down. Still, I hope to be back in Arendelle within seven weeks."

"My one year coronation will be in six weeks," says Elsa with a sad expression.

Kristian notices the sad tone and expression of Elsa. So in an uplifting tone, Kristian says, "Hey, you have had me for almost three months. So just how long do you want to hold onto me?"

Elsa smiles and replies, "If I could, I would hold onto you for as long as possible; but these past three months have been very rewarding. However, I still would like to have you for at least one more day, my coronation day."

"When I get back, you will have me for many days," says a smiling Kristian. "And when I get back, I will try and make it up to you for missing your special day."

"I'd say you are off to a good start already, in making up for it," says a smiling Elsa.

"So does this mean I don't have to come back to Arendelle then?" says Kristian cheekily.

"Don't you dare!" replies Elsa humorously. "I am going to hold you to your word, even if I have to hold onto you the entire time."

Kristian begins to laugh and a devilish smile appears on Elsa's face. Elsa generates a snowball and tosses it Kristian. Kristian responds by raising a hand to try and block the snowball. Kristian also generates a fire around this hand. However, this snowball glances off the lower side of Kristian's hand and it strikes Kristian in the chest with a splash. Kristian had managed to melt the snowball. Now Elsa begins to laugh and Kristian has a big grin on his face.

"So you want to escalate this then," says a smiling Kristian, as he dries his clothes with his flame.

After Kristian is done drying himself, he directs a stream of flame at Elsa. This flame is light and thin, but Elsa can feel the heat from it as the flame blows against her. The flame causes Elsa hair to blow backwards and her clothing to flap in the hot air.

"OK, OK," says a laughing Elsa. "I give in. The last thing we should be doing is fighting inside the palace."

Kristian is laughing now too. Then Kristian says, "You're right. The last thing we need is mess in here."

As both Kristian and Elsa laugh, Kristian holds his hand out to Elsa. Elsa reaches out and takes a hold of Kristian's hand. Then Kristian pulls Elsa towards him and wraps his arms around her. Kristian smiles as he holds onto Elsa and Elsa giggles a little as she rests her head against Kristian's chest. For the next several minutes, these two sit on the couch just enjoying each other's company.

Less than two hours later, Elsa and Kristian are heading out of the palace. On Kristian's shoulder sits Mattias. It is time for Kristian's ship to leave and they are all heading towards the docks. As they reach the center of the courtyard, Elsa speaks up. "Can we stop for a moment, Kristian? There is something that I need to pick up first," asks Elsa.

"Sure, but I don't have a lot of time," replies Kristian. "My ship is leaving soon."

"It won't take long," says Elsa.

Elsa begins to head to a separate building in the courtyard. As she nears this building, the treasurer is just coming out of the door. Elsa has a brief word with the treasurer and the treasurer hands Elsa a small sack of gold coins. Once Elsa has this small sack, she returns to Kristian's side.

"Here you go Kristian. I have arranged this for you," says Elsa as she hands the sack over to Kristian.

Kristian takes the sack and says as he looks inside the sack, "What's this, a sack of gold coins? Why are you giving me this? I already have some money."

"I wanted to pay you for your services to Arendelle," replies Elsa. "I figured you could use the extra money on your trip."

"This is quite a bit of money. I don't deserve this much," says Kristian as he doesn't think he really did anything.

"I think that you do," replies Elsa. "You helped repair the palace, and you helped Arendelle recover from its fires and the avalanche."

"I am also responsible for causing the damage in the first place," says Kristian. "If anything I owe Arendelle something."

"You were helping to protect Arendelle and me when all that happened," counters Elsa. "You were willing to face Goran on your own. In that one day, you did more than one hundred men could have done. Maybe you can make an argument for not deserving this money, but I think I can make an argument for you deserving more."

Kristian looks at Elsa for a moment. Then Kristian looks down at the sack of money. Finally, Kristian takes the sack and places into a pouch that hangs on his belt. "I suppose that I should be grateful that you didn't make it more," says Kristian. "I'm not all that comfortable in take this amount."

"That was my thought too," replies Elsa. "I tried to make this sum as rational as I could, so that you wouldn't be too uncomfortable about taking this money."

"I think you are trying to incentivize me in returning," says Kristian with a slight smile.

"Maybe there is a little bit of that too," replies Elsa with a smile.

Kristian starts to walk again and Elsa walks alongside. "So is there any more surprises that you have for me before I leave?" asks Kristian with a lint in his voice.

"There is, but Anna is bringing it to the docks," replies Elsa.

"I hope it is nothing major. I don't think I can carry a lot more," says Kristian.

"It's just two small items. You should have no trouble with them, and they may even help you with your journey," replies Elsa.

It only takes a few minutes for Kristian and Elsa to walk to the docks. Tied to one of the piers is one of the royal ships of Arendelle. It is not the biggest ship that the royal family owns, but it is the fastest. As Elsa and Kristian approach this pier, a familiar figure is waiting for them. This figure just happens to be Olaf.

"Hi guys!" exclaims Olaf as he waves to Kristian and Elsa. "I came to see my best friend Kristian off on his trip."

"Hey, Olaf," greets Kristian as he sets his pack onto the ground. As Kristian does this, Mattias flies off to a nearby perch. "I was wondering if I was going to see you today," continues Kristian.

"Of course you were going to see me today," replies Olaf. "I had to give you a happy farewell and good wishes for a safe return."

"I think that I will be missed by a number of people here in Arendelle," amuses Kristian.

"Of course you will be missed," replies Olaf. "You are probably the fourth most popular person here in Arendelle."

"What, I am only number four?" amusingly responds Kristian.

"Well you have to give the first spot to Elsa, with her being the queen and all," says Olaf. "After Elsa, you have to give the second and third spot to Anna and me. So the highest spot that you can possible take is number four."

"Speaking of Anna. Olaf, do you know where she is?" asks Elsa.

"Sure, she is getting things ready with the chancellor. Anna sent me ahead to make sure that Kristian didn't leave before she arrives," replies Olaf.

"The chancellor?" questions Kristian. "What is Anna bringing that requires the chancellor?"

"Oh it is something that you probably won't need, but if you find yourself in some trouble it could help to get you out of it," replies Elsa.

"Hey, here comes Anna now!" exclaims Olaf as he points in the direction of the palace.

Elsa and Kristian turn around and see Anna running towards them. Anna is carrying two items. In one hand, a roll of parchment can be seen. In the other hand, Kristian cannot quite make it out; but it looks like some kind of ribbon.

As Anna nears Kristian and Elsa, she says, "Sorry for the delay, Elsa; but it took a while for the chancellor to write up the decree." "Here you go," says Anna as she hands the two items over to Elsa.

"Thank you Anna," replies Elsa as she takes the two items from Anna.

"A decree? What sort of decree are we talking about?" asks a puzzled Kristian.

Elsa turns towards Kristian and presents the parchment to him. As Kristian takes this parchment, Elsa says, "All this states is that you are an official emissary of the Kingdom of Arendelle, and that you deserve all the respect and rights which that position entitles you to."

"Wait, you're making me a royal emissary?" asks Kristian. "I'm just going to pick up some things from my former home."

"I know, but this decree could make things safer for you in certain circumstances," replies Elsa. Then Elsa stretches out her other hand with the ribbon. "This is the royal symbol of Arendelle," says Elsa as Kristian takes the ribbon. Attached to the end of the ribbon is a metal insignia. "With that parchment and the royal insignia, you are now an official member of the royal court."

Kristian looks at the insignia for a moment, and then he says, "This kind of looks like something that I saw Kristoff with."

"Well, Kristoff is part of the royal court," replies Anna. "He is the official Ice Master and Deliverer of Arendelle. Elsa made him that last year, after the effort Kristoff went through in helping me."

"Is that really a position?" amuses Kristian.

"It is an official position now," replies a smiling Elsa. "I made it just for Kristoff, and I doubt anyone will hold that position after him."

Suddenly, a ships bell begins to ring. The ship was signaling it was about to leave. Kristian looks over to the ship and says, "I guess it is time for me to leave."

"Good bye, Kristian! Have a safe trip!" exclaims Olaf.

"Take care of yourself, Kristian. There are many people here that will want to see you again," adds Anna.

Finally, Kristian looks over to Elsa and he can see the sad look on Elsa's face. "Good bye Kristian," says Elsa quietly. After speaking Elsa drops her head slightly.

Kristian moves up in front of Elsa, and Elsa lifts her head to look at Kristian with a sad questioning look. Then Kristian moves his hand up to Elsa's face and quickly leans in to give Elsa a kiss. Elsa is startled when Kristian kisses her on the mouth. Due to the shock, Elsa's magic powers cause some snow to start swirling around her and Kristian. Then Kristian's own powers begin to react to Elsa's magic. With Kristian, small flames begin to wick up his arms and flicker off the corner of his shoulders.

Elsa quickly pushes herself away from Kristian and the swirling snow soon stops. "You know you can't surprise me like that," objects Elsa politely.

"I know, but it is still kind of fun to do it though," replies Kristian with a grin.

Then a devilish smile comes across Elsa's face. Then she says to Kristian, "Well then, you should prepare yourself for what is coming next."

Kristian continues to smile as he believes he knows what Elsa is going to do next. Then Elsa moves steadily towards Kristian and smoothly wraps her arms around Kristian's neck. Then Elsa gives Kristian a long kiss and Kristian responds favorably.

Then Elsa backs off a little and says, "There, now wasn't that much better."

"It certainly was enjoyable," replies Kristian with a smile. "Now I hope you won't be sad anymore."

"I'm still sad, but you have given me a memory that I can use to hold on to," says Elsa with a smile.

"I'm glad that I did," replies Kristian. "Now I am sorry to say this, but I have a ship to catch."

"I know," says Elsa. "I want you to take care of yourself, and I don't care how long it takes but I want you to come back to me."

"I will come back. That much I promise," replies Kristian. Then after a momentary pause, Kristian turns and picks up his pack; and then he goes to board the ship.

As the ship begins to leave the dock; Elsa, Olaf, and Anna wave good bye to Kristian. Kristian then waves back to them. As the ship begins to leave the harbor, Elsa lets out a sigh.

"I'm sure that he will be back, Elsa," says Anna. Anna is trying to reassure her sister.

"I know that he will try to come back, but I am going to miss him," replies Elsa.

As the ship disappears out of sight, a loud screech is heard by everyone. People look up and everyone sees Mattias spread his wings from his perch and take to the air. Mattias swoops over the heads of Elsa, Anna, and Olaf before he heads out to the ship. As Mattias leaves, Olaf shouts out, "Bye Mattias! Take care of Kristian!"

Elsa and Anna also wave to the firebird as he flies off into the distance. "You know something Anna. Even with everything that I know about Kristian, he still somehow always finds a way to amaze me," comments Elsa.

"I know how you feel, Elsa," replies Anna. "I feel the same way, whenever I hang around with you."


	2. Chapter 2

Kristian now stands on the deck of a ship as it sails away from Arendelle. His firebird Mattias is perched on Kristian's shoulder. As Kristian stands there, he looks back at Arendelle with a smile on his face. However, as soon as Arendelle is no longer visible, Kristian lets out a sad sigh. Then Kristian says to Mattias, "I'm barely gone from Arendelle, and I am already missing that place."

Most of Kristian's voyage is uneventful. It takes only a few hours for the ship to reach the open waters of the sea; and despite a few waves, the ship travels safely. However, the crew of the ship had some concerns with Mattias. They feared the fact that Mattias was a living fire, and the possibility of Mattias setting the ship on fire. However, a special fire ring was created for the firebird. An iron fire ring was constructed and it was lined with fitted stones. Mattias spent most of his time in this fire ring.

After the first day at sea, the crew began to settle down about Mattias. After the second day, the crew started to appreciate the fact that Mattias was on board. On most voyages, cooking was often kept to a minimum. However on this voyage, Mattias was able to help the ships cook prepare hot meals, even on rolling seas.

It took three full days for the ship to reach its destination; and on the morning of the fourth day, the ship docks at an out of the way pier. The ship was larger than what most ships were, that normally dock here; but this ship was still able to handle the shallower waters.

Once the ship was secured to the pier, Kristian and the captain have words. "The ship is secure. You can depart any time now," says the ship's captain.

"Thank you captain," replies Kristian.

"Before you go, what is your expected time table for your return to the pier?" asks the captain.

"I anticipate that I should be back here in about five weeks. If you can be here before the end of the fifth week, I would appreciate it," replies Kristian.

"We shall return by the end of the fourth week," responds the captain. "The queen wishes for us to be here in case you are able to finish your work early. A few days after the end of the fifth week, we will return to Arendelle. After that, we have orders to stop and see if you are around, when we pass by. We will do this for as long as the weather is good for sailing."

"The queen certainly is going through a lot of effort for me," amuses Kristian.

"The queen has taken a liking to you; and from my time with you, I can understand why," replies the captain. "Good luck on your task."

"Thank you again captain," says a grateful Kristian. Then Kristian picks up his pack, and he turns. "Mattias!" loudly calls Kristian, and from below deck the firebird flies out and lands on Kristian's shoulder. Now with Mattias on his shoulder, Kristian departs the ship and heads off into the countryside.

For the next few days, Kristian walks on the back trails of the Kingdom of Weselton. Few people travel these paths, because these trails do not lead to major centers of activity. During the day, Kristian often walks by himself. While Mattias sores just over the tree tops or even through the trees themselves. With his keen eyesight, Mattias is able to spot potential trouble; and he can fly away to avoid it.

During the night, Kristian will get off the trail and find an out of the way spot to bed down for a few hours. Mattias will also make himself comfortable. As always Mattias climbs into the campfire and becomes one with the fire. Here, Mattias can easily go unnoticed.

For four days, Kristian has walked through the back country of Weselton without an incident. The only times that Kristian would interact with the locals of the area was when he would stop and buy food in hamlets. However on the fifth day, Kristian had come to a major crossroads. It was the last major community on the edge of the Kingdom of Weselton. This village was known as Rivers Gorge. As the name proclaims, this village sits next to a river. This village also has the only bridge that crosses this river for many miles. Because of this unique position on the landscape, Rivers Gorge was an important area of commerce; and because of this it had its own castle.

Kristian wasn't too concerned when he entered Rivers Gorge. After all, Rivers Gorge was often used as a stopover village for travelers and goods heading to and away from the village of Weselton. Therefore strangers are often not payed much attention to.

Kristian took his time heading through the village, and he was able to buy himself a wonderful meal. Thanks to the funds that Elsa had given him, before he left Arendelle. As Kristian was spending time in the village, Mattias had flown around the village. On the other side of the village, Mattias found a perch on the path where he could watch and wait for Kristian. Unfortunately, someone else had seen Kristian before Mattias had.

After having finished his meal Kristian began to check out the village of Rivers Gorge. Kristian had passed through this village with Goran, on his way to Arendelle. However, Goran was focused on getting to their destination. Therefore, Kristian didn't get to explore the village last time. Kristian had spent very little time outside his old mountain home. Other than the few hamlets and villages around his old mountain home, Kristian hadn't seen many places. Now that Kristian was almost a day ahead of where he was expecting to be, Kristian felt that he could take some time and check out Rivers Gorge.

In the castle that looks over Rivers Gorge, is a man that is familiar to Kristian. This man is the Duke of Weselton. Right now, the Duke is sitting at a table and finishing his meal. As he sits here, the Duke bemoans his situation. "Why did the king have to send me here? These stone walls chill my aching joints too much. I should actually be back in Weselton, carousing with important dignitaries in the warmth of the palace. Instead I am here, watching over peasants and traders as they go about their business."

The Duke then gets up from the table and walks to a set of doors. The Duke opens the doors and steps outside onto a cobblestone yard. Then the Duke walks across this yard to a stone railing; and from this railing, he looks down onto the village of Rivers Gorge. The castle sits on a hill that looks over the village. From this high point, the Duke watches the activity in the village with distain. "It is not my fault that the Queen of Arendelle was a monster. I was doing what I could to save people. How was I to know that those people in Arendelle would accept her as their queen? Once that had happened, I knew there was no way I was going to reestablish trade like the king wanted. I had no other recourse than to alter the leadership in Arendelle. How was I to know, that the men that I hired were monsters as well. For all the trouble that I had gone through for the King of Weselton; I get stuck here, a village in the interior of Weselton."

As the Duke watches the village of Rivers Gorge, he notices a figure that looks familiar to him down on the streets. The Duke then turns and calls out to a servant. "Bring me a spyglass, quickly!"

The servant leaves; and within a few minutes, he returns with a spyglass and hands it over to the Duke. The Duke takes the spyglass and begins to check out the figure he has seen earlier. "That is him. That's Goran's companion!" exclaims the Duke. "What is he doing here? He should be back on that mountain?" Then the Duke turns towards the servant and exclaims, "Notify the castle guards to assemble in the great hall! There is a dangerous man down in the village of Rivers Gorge!"

In a couple of minutes, a group of about twenty men have gathered in the stone hall of the castle. In front on them stands the Duke of Weselton. After a moment, the Duke turns towards the Captain of the Guard. "Have all the men assembled?" asks the Duke of the commander.

"Yes, all of the available men are here," replies the Captain of the Guard.

"We may need more," says the Duke as he turns to address the men gathered. "I have dire news for you men! A demon has entered your village! This demon has the ability to produce dangerous fires from nothing and can burn your homes down to the ground! Our first duty is to see to the safety of your village, Rivers Gorge; but we also have a duty to the King of Weselton! Ideally, we need to capture this demon. So we can bring him in front of the king! Failing that, we must do all that we can to destroy this monster! Now I must consult with your commander, so that we can devise a strategy to handle this creature! So prepare yourselves for combat!"

When the Duke finishes talking with the men, he heads off to a separate room. He is followed there by the Captain of the Guard. The two men quickly devise a plan to take on Kristian.

On the streets of Rivers Gorge, Kristian has been enjoying his exploration of the village. Kristian has been taking his time walking through the village, since he was in no hurry. However, it was starting to get late in the day; and Kristian needed to find a place to spend the night in the countryside. Kristian decided that he could still get about four hours of walking in before he would need to find a campsite. That amount of time should get him out of the Kingdom of Weselton.

However, as Kristian was making his way to the bridge in Rivers Gorge, he was being closely monitored by men from the castle. Eventually four men, with swords at their sides, approached Kristian. As these men neared, they drew their swords; and one man called out, "Hold fast demon! One false move and you forfeit your life!"

Kristian turns to face these men. They stand about ten feet away from him. Kristian is shocked that these men had somehow found about him. However, this momentary shock is quickly replaced with anger. "You have no right to detain me," angrily says Kristian. "I have done nothing here in Rivers Gorge or anything anywhere in the Kingdom of Weselton."

"Our orders come from the governor of this province, and his orders state that you are to be taken prisoner," replies one of the men strongly.

Kristian lifts his hands up and they flare up. "Do you really think just four men can take on this fire demon?" asks Kristian angrily.

The four men take a step or two back away from Kristian. Then Kristian swings a hand forward and downward towards the men. Flame shoots off of this hand and creates a semi-circle of fire on the ground between Kristian and the men. These men step further back away from the fire, and Kristian starts to run towards the bridge.

Kristian hands still flame as he runs through the streets. People that see Kristian often scream and run away from him. As Kristian runs, he starts to encounter other men with weapons. Unfortunately, Kristian has decided not to drop his pack; and the weight of the pack is slowing him down. However, so far, things have not gone beyond what Kristian thinks that he can handle. A few small fireballs thrown at pursuing men would stop them in their tracks.

However, things were about to get worse. At the village side of the bridge, there is the village square; a large open area for villagers to use as they see fit. At one end of this square, a group of arches stood. As Kristian enters the square, he stops due to the surprise of seeing these men. Once Kristian stops, a barrage of arrows is fired towards him. In response Kristian quickly generates a fireball and launches it at the arrows. The arrow shafts burn up as they pass through the fireball and the arrowheads fall harmlessly to the ground. The fireball continues to roar towards the archers and the archers begin to scatter. However, Kristian takes his hand and swipes it sideways through the air. As Kristian does this, the fireball begins to dissipate into the air.

Now Kristian lifts both hands upwards, and as he does this motion a firewall emerges from the cobblestones of the square. This wall separates the archers from Kristian, and it gives Kristian a clear path to the bridge. With his way clear, Kristian begins to head across the bridge. However, Kristian stops about half way across because soldiers appear at the far side. Kristian then turns around and sees more soldiers coming from the village. Kristian quickly creates a firewall at the village side of the bridge. Then Kristian turns back to the soldiers blocking his way. Kristian slowly walks towards these soldiers. As he does this, Kristian launches several small fire orbs at them. These men would scatter but they would quickly reform into a blocking stance. They would not allow Kristian an easy escape from Rivers Gorge.

Kristian continues to press forward against these stubborn soldiers. Suddenly, a large barrel comes through the air at Kristian. This barrel was launched from a catapult. After seeing the launched barrel, Kristian turns and fires a fireball at this object. The barrel burns up quickly from this fireball. However, the barrel was full of water, and the water hits the bridge with a splash. Kristian gets drenched and he gets pushed to the side of the bridge due to the force of the water. The water also extinguishes the fire on his hands.

With the fire on Kristian's hands gone, the soldiers begin to advance quickly onto the bridge. Kristian now realizes that he is in trouble. So Kristian drops his pack and focuses on using his magic powers. It takes some concentration, but soon the water that has drenched Kristian begins to hiss and evaporate. Finally Kristian was able to generate a stream of fire directed at the approaching soldiers, and those men that are on the bridge have to dive to the deck.

With Kristian's attention on the soldiers, he fails to see the second barrel coming through the air. The barrel lands a few feet away from Kristian, and it bursts open on impact. Kristian was not prepared for this barrel, and the impact of the barrel causes Kristian to lose his balance. The force of the splashing water and the flying debris from the bursting barrel, push Kristian against and over the rail of the bridge. Kristian then falls several feet into the river below.

For a moment, Kristian disappears under the water, but several feet further down the river he emerges again. Now Kristian is disorientated and he struggles to find his bearings. Finally Kristian locates the riverbank and he begins to swim for dry land. Soon Kristian reaches the bank and he begins to pull himself out of the water. However, the men who were chasing Kristian have also seen Kristian swim for the bank.

Just as Kristian had finished pulling himself out of the water, a few men with swords have come to the spot where he was at. "Your reign of terror over Rivers Gorge is ended," says one of the men as he brings the point of his sword close to Kristian.

Kristian stands on the bank of the river, helpless. He is soaked from head to toe and cannot generate a fire quickly. Even if Kristian could produce a fire, a swords blade could withstand a fire long enough to strike a fatal blow. With a rapidly flowing river at his back, Kristian has no choice but to submit to the will of the men in front of him.


	3. Chapter 3

After having taken an unexpected swim in the river, Kristian is now being pulled up the river bank by two men. A third man has a sword draw and this sword is pointed at Kristian's back. In a few moments, everyone makes it up to a road. On this road, a cart pulls up alongside the men. On this cart there are four men.

One of these men, who is sitting next to the driver of the cart, tosses a chain with metal wrist cuffs down to the men on the ground. "Chain him up!" exclaims this man.

Two of the men on the ground quickly place the chains onto Kristian's wrist. Then Kristian is led to the back of the cart and he is helped up onto the cart. On the back of the cart there are several open barrels of water, along with two men. The two men on the cart pull Kristian in front of one of the barrels. On the edge of this barrel sits a large anvil. One of the two men, on the back of the cart, then takes a chain and ties the anvil to the chain that holds Kristian's wrist. Once this was done, the anvil is pushed into the barrel of water and Kristian's hands are pulled into the water. Now Kristian has to stand bent over the top of this open barrel of water.

Now that Kristian was secured like this, the cart begins to roll back towards the village of Rivers Gorge. As the cart rolls through the village, people can be heard whispering.

"They have captured the monster," says one person.

"It's a fire demon," says another person.

"That thing tried to burn down our village!" exclaims a third.

Other people would peak out of windows or doors. They were too afraid to step out into the open.

Kristian heard and saw nearly everything. Kristian hated to hear these things, and he disliked how people were reacting to his presence. However, Kristian was in no position to do anything about it.

The cart continues to go through the village and soon the cart is pulling into the courtyard of the castle. Once inside the courtyard the cart comes to a stop just in front of the main doors to the castle. Shortly, out of the front doors comes the Duke of Weselton.

"Ah, excellent men!" exclaims the Duke with pleasure. "The King of Weselton will be pleased with the capture of this creature."

Kristian turns his head to look at the Duke. "You! So you're the reason!" exclaims Kristian.

"Silence!" says one of the men standing guard over Kristian. "Don't address the governor unless he addresses you!"

The Duke then walks over to the cart. Then to Kristian, the Duke says, "You have been nothing but misfortune for me, since I met you. However, it was a mistake for you to return from your mountain sanctuary; but since you are now my prisoner, your return to Weselton will indeed help me. For when I turn you over to the king, it will help me to restore my position among the king's royal court."

"I haven't come from my mountain home. I am returning to it," replies Kristian coldly.

"So the witch queen has forced you to walk the entire way here then," replies the Duke. "Well it doesn't matter. You will still be useful to me."

"I wasn't forced to walk! The Queen of Arendelle arranged for a ship to carry me!" exclaims Kristian harshly.

"Impossible!" exclaims the Duke. "Fire and ice are incompatible. She had to have driven you out."

"Queen Elsa has allowed me to stay in Arendelle, and I have proof of her assistance," replies Kristian. "I'm wearing the insignia of Arendelle around my neck, and I have a written decree in my pack as well."

"Show me," exclaims the Duke to one of the guards on the cart. This guard then reaches into Kristian's shirt and pulls on the ribbon that is hidden there. The insignia soon falls out of Kristian's shirt and the guard holds the insignia in his hand for the Duke to see.

"This means nothing," continues the Duke. "You could have stolen it. Besides, do you think that anything from the Kingdom of Arendelle would mean anything to me? Your little paper would be nothing but kindling for my fire."

Then the Duke turns away and walks back towards the castle. Meanwhile, the guard holding the insignia lets it drop. This insignia then dangles from Kristian's neck.

As the Duke nears the castle, he approaches the Captain of the Guards. "Sir, if what he says is true, shouldn't we investigate his claim?" inquires the Captain.

"Arendelle should be considered an enemy to the Kingdom of Weselton, and anyone that is in league with that kingdom should be considered an enemy as well," replies the Duke.

"Even a decree from a hostile kingdom deserves some respect," objects the Captain of the Guards.

"Arendelle is not a true kingdom," chastises the Duke. "When the ruler of such a place is some kind of monster, how can it be a real kingdom?"

Once the Duke reaches the main doors to the castle, he turns around and gives a command. "Drench him! Then take him to the prepared cell! We will leave first thing in the morning for Weselton, with our prisoner!" Then the Duke walks into the castle.

Back on the cart, the guards take buckets and fill them from the water barrels that are also on the cart. Then these buckets are dumped over Kristian. After a few more bucket dumps, Kristian is once again totally soaked. Then the anvil is hoisted out of the barrel of water, and it is unchained from the shackles that Kristian is in. Once this is done, Kristian is taken down from the cart and he is lead into the castle under heavy guard.

As Kristian is taken into the castle, he is led down to the lowest level of the structure. Here there is nothing but damp stone. It is the dungeon of the castle. Soon Kristian is taken into one of the cells here. The interior of this cell, however, was fitted with a unique system of barrels. Water barrels line the walls and these barrels support a crudely made water tank. This tank would leak and drip water onto the cell floor below.

"You will stay in here until morning, and if you attempt to burn your way out of this cell, the water that sits above you will come down," says one of the guards.

Then Kristian is left alone in the cell, and two guards are left on the outside of the cell door. "It just had to be the Duke of Weselton," says Kristian to himself. "I stood a better chance of getting leniency from the King of Weselton, rather than the Duke. Now the Duke is going to taint anyone's opinion before I even get a chance to speak to them."

With nothing else to do, Kristian focuses his magic powers and raises his outside temperature. In a few moments, steam begins to rise from his body. A few flames also form, but Kristian reduces his powers once this happens. Soon Kristian is dry from his soaking, and he then finds a comfortable place on the floor to lie down. Once Kristian is comfortable, he takes a nap.

* * *

><p>Outside the village of Rivers Gorge, Mattias sits on his perch. He has been waiting for Kristian for a few hours now and the sun is beginning to set. Mattias had chosen a spot that was a few miles away from the village. Because of this distance, Mattias was not aroused by the commotion of Kristian's capture. However, now the firebird is beginning to wonder where Kristian is at. So Mattias takes to the air and begins to search the road for Kristian. It only takes a few minutes for the firebird to check out the road, but Mattias finds no sign of Kristian.<p>

With the road out of the town looked over, Mattias continues his search by flying over the village of Rivers Gorge. To check out the village; Mattias climbs high into air, and he scans the village with his keen eyesight. Still Mattias can find no trace of Kristian. However, Mattias does not go unnoticed by people down in the village.

Back in the castle, the Duke is sitting in a small room that is very well furnished. There is a servant with him, and this servant is attending to a fire. "Make sure to get that fire blazing real well," instructs the Duke to the servant.

"Yes sir," replies the servant.

"I may be forced to live in this cold, damp castle; but I refuse to tolerate these conditions if there is any way that I can change them," says the Duke.

Just then the Captain of the Guards walks into the room. "Sir, may I have a word with you?" asks the Captain.

"What is so important that you disturb me in my sanctuary?" asks the Duke with some displeasure.

"The pack of the prisoner was retrieved from the bridge, and I went through the items," replies the Captain. "Sir, I found the written decree from Arendelle. What the prisoner has said was true. The Queen of Arendelle has made him a royal emissary. We need to remove him from that cell and provide him more suitable accommodations. Then we must notify the king on what our next move shall be." The Captain holds out the decree towards the Duke as he speaks.

The Duke reaches out and takes the decree from the Captain. The Duke begins to read it while the Captain stands and waits for him to finish. Then the Duke looks up to the Captain and says, "This piece of paper doesn't mean a thing. That is a dangerous man down in that cell. You saw what he was capable of. I'm not going to allow some piece of paper from an unholy kingdom to persuade me from my task."

"But sir, no damage was done to the village of Rivers Gorge, and no one was harmed," replies the Captain. "I believe that he was trying to flee the village, when we took him prisoner. This young man may be dangerous, but I don't think he is a threat. I think that we should respect that decree and notify the King of Weselton."

The Duke stands up, and then he angrily replies, "The king will be notified of this unholy creation, and I will be rewarded for it. As for this paper, it can help to warm up my room."

The Duke then walks over to the fire and tosses the parchment into the fire. However, as he does this, the door bursts open and a guard comes into the room. The sudden burst of air into the room causes the parchment to flip and land at the corner of the fire place where it smolders.

The guard that came into the room speaks up with a frantic voice. "Sirs, there is something monstrous up in the evening sky!"

"What is it?" asks the Captain.

"I don't know what it is, sir," replies the guard. "It is some kind of fire in the sky!"

"A fire!" exclaims the Duke. "Is the prisoner secure?"

"Yes sir. The prisoner is secured in his cell," replies the guard.

"We need to investigate this new danger," says the Duke as he walks towards the door. As he nears the door, the Duke turns to the servant and says, "Bring me my spyglass!"

The Duke then leaves the room, and he is followed by the guard and his servant with the spyglass. Now the Captain of the Guards is left alone in the room. However, before the Captain follows the others out of the room, he heads over to the fireplace and picks up what is left of the decree. The Captain places it in his pocket, and then he follows the others to examine this new threat.

Outside on the castle stone yard, the Duke and the Captain can see a fire moving through the evening sky. The Duke takes his spyglass and uses it to look at this fire. "It's a bird, and it is totally made of fire!" exclaims the Duke. "It has to do something with Goran's companion." Then then Duke turns to the Captain of the Guards and says, "Take me to the prisoner. I need to demand from him an explanation."

The Captain of the Guards leads the Duke down to the cell that contains Kristian. Once these men reach the cell, the door is unlocked; and the Duke and the Captain of the Guards enter the cell. Kristian, who was resting peacefully, sits up when he hears the door of his cell open. Then Kristian watches the two men enter the room.

"What do you want, Duke?" asks Kristian harshly.

"You're in no position to be talking to me like that," replies the Duke. "Your life is literally in my hands. You should be conciliatory to me if you wish to regain your freedom."

"I choose who I subjugate myself to, and it is certainly not you," rebuffs Kristian as he gets to his feet. "I wonder how the people you rule over would feel about how you tried to kill the Queen of Arendelle, twice."

"The king already knows about those attempts, and the people's opinion here matters little," counters the Duke. "It is because of my failures in Arendelle that the king has relegated me to this unimportant village. However, when I bring you before his majesty, I should be able to regain some of my former prestige."

"I doubt that you ever had any prestige, and Rivers Gorge deserves someone better than yourself as their governor," mocks Kristian.

"Enough of your insolence!" exclaims the Duke. "What I want from you concerns a bird that has been flying over the village!"

"Birds fly all over the place. What is so special about this one?" asks Kristian with indifference.

"What is special about this bird is that it seems to be completely made of fire," replies an insulted Duke.

"That doesn't surprise me," replies Kristian with a slight smile.

"Stop being coy about this! Do you have anything to do with this flaming nuisance?" asks an angry Duke.

"I doubt Mattias has been a nuisance," replies Kristian. "And yes, I do have something to do with that bird. I created him some time ago."

"That bird has come to turn the village to ashes!" exclaims the Duke. "We must prepare to destroy this fire beast at once!"

"Mattias won't even get near the village!" exclaims Kristian. "He knows better than that. Once the sun sets he will stop his search, and Mattias will find a spot to rest."

"A search? What is that bird searching for?" asks a puzzled Duke.

"What do you think he is searching for?" replies Kristian. "I'm overdue and Mattias is looking for me."

"This is not good at all," says the Duke. Then turning to the Captain of the Guards, the Duke asks, "What should we do about this flaming bird then, Captain?"

"I suggest that we do nothing," replies the Captain. "It is almost near sunset and this bird will be giving up his search soon."

"Yes, yes, the night will bring an end to this flaming creature's presence, but what about tomorrow morning? It will most likely return, and it will then see us moving our prisoner," responds the Duke.

"Then there is only one answer for that," says the Captain. "We must move this gentleman during the night. Once we are away from Rivers Gorge, the firebird will not find us as easy to locate."

"Travel at night?" questions the Duke. "Do you know how difficult it is for me to sleep in my carriage?"

"Then do you want to risk moving our guest during the daytime and risk running into his firebird," asks the Captain.

"No, I have had my fill of magic beings already," replies the Duke. "Fine then, let's make preparations to move once the firebird is gone. Besides the sooner we get moving the sooner the king will reward me for my accomplishment." When the Duke finishes speaking, he turns and walks out of the cell to start making preparations for the journey.

As the Captain of the Guards was about to follow the Duke of Weselton out of the cell, Kristian speaks up. "Captain! May I have a word with you?"

The Captain turns back towards Kristian and asks, "Yes, what is it that you want?"

"I am very aware of what you have just done here," replies Kristian. "Waiting for dark and leaving was not your only option. For what you are doing, I just want to say thanks."

"No real damage has been done so far; and if I did any sort of action, I cannot guarantee a similar outcome. So what I suggested was the safest course to take," states the Captain.

"At least you are more reasonable than the Duke," says Kristian. "I have even noticed the respect that you have been showing me, even though I am like this." Kristian lifts up his shackled hands as he finishes speaking.

"Normally, I would agree with the Duke, except for one thing. You were wearing that insignia," says the Captain as he points to the Arendelle insignia around Kristian's neck.

I wouldn't think this thing would have any value here in Weselton," replies Kristian as he lifts up the insignia to look at it.

"To most people, it has little value," replies the Captain. "However, I have served directly under the king during many important meetings with visiting dignitaries. I understand the importance of the royal symbols. While I disagree with how the Duke is handling this affair, he is the top authority in this region. So his word is the law, until the king decides otherwise."

"So what does this mean then, are you going to argue my position in front of the king then?" asks Kristian.

"I have no opinion on what the king should do, but the king does need to know all the information that can be obtained," replies the Captain. "His majesty may side with the Duke on this matter, or he may not. I will not be deciding this affair. However, I suggest that you keep that insignia hidden from the Duke until you are in front of his majesty. The Duke might want to take that away from you to conceal who you are, from the king."

With that last statement, the Captain of the Guards leaves the cell and the cell door is locked. Meanwhile, Kristian looks at the insignia of Arendelle for a while, and then he places this object back under his shirt. There isn't much that Kristian can do now, so Kristian's finds a spot to lie down and wait. "Maybe the king will let me go," thinks Kristian. "After all, he did demote the Duke of Weselton."

* * *

><p>During the rest of the day, the Duke of Weselton was making preparations to leave for the village of Weselton. The Duke was getting his private carriage ready, and he was making sure that it was well stocked with fine wines and excellent food. Meanwhile, the Captain of the Guards was preparing a cart to carry Kristian. Once again, several water barrels are placed on the cart along with an anvil. However, besides these items, the Captain had also placed Kristian's pack on the cart as well.<p>

It took a little time, but everything was finally prepared. Now they just had to wait for Mattias to stop searching for Kristian. It took a while, but eventually Mattias called an end to his search. So the firebird flies away from the village; and he finds a place to nestle down, out of sight of anyone watching.

Once Mattias was out of sight, the Duke gave orders. "Get the prisoner! Drench him and load him onto the cart!"

Down in the cell, Kristian had been resting when the cell door opens. Just as Kristian was sitting up, a bucket of water is thrown at him. Just as the shock of the first bucket of water was wearing off, a second bucket of water is thrown. With Kristian once again drenched, two men come and lifted Kristian up and begin to move Kristian out of the cell. Soon Kristian is being escorted through the castle by men with swords and other men with buckets of water.

In a few moments, Kristian is outside the castle and he is being loaded onto the cart. Once again, Kristian is chained to the anvil; but this time Kristian is allowed to sit down with his back against one of the water barrels. Other barrels surround him on both sides, and two men with swords are on the back of the cart as well.

Once everything and everyone is situated, the group begins to move out of the castle walls under the cover of darkness. The Duke's carriage leads the way. The curtains on the carriage are drawn; and the Duke is trying to get comfortable, with little success. Behind the Duke's carriage is the cart that is carrying Kristian, and behind this cart is six men on horses. Among these men on horses is the Captain of the Guards.

This group steadily moves down the road to Weselton during the entire night. No one bothers to make a sound except for the Duke. He constantly groans about not being comfortable on the journey when he is trying to sleep. Everyone else takes the journey in stride, including Kristian. However, Kristian is fairing better than most. Just a few hours earlier, Kristian was able to take a few naps. While the others were fully awake doing their normal daily duties. Also despite being wet, Kristian was comfortable in the cool night air. Kristian's magic was generating enough heat to elevate the temperature of the air around him.

Finally, this group stops in the morning at a hamlet on the road. This is because the Duke wants to sit down and have a proper meal. As the Duke of Weselton climbs out of his carriage, he calls out, "Drench the prisoner! Then we can all get something to eat!"

The guards on the cart obey the Duke's orders, and they dump a few pails over the top of Kristian. Kristian is getting tired of getting wet like this, but he doesn't have much of a choice. Now with Kristian thoroughly soaked, the Duke heads to one of the buildings with most of the men following him. Only the Captain of the Guards and the two guards on the cart remain.

As everyone else leave the Captain rides up to the cart and says to the two guards on the cart, "You two can go and eat. I will watch our guest."

"Are you sure, sir?" asks one of the guards. "He is a dangerous man."

"The Duke has overblown the potential danger," replies the Captain. "Besides, don't you think that the gentleman here would have done something last night, if he was a real threat?"

"Very well sir," responds one of the guards. "We'll take our leave, but we will make sure to bring something for you as well to eat."

"If you do, make sure to bring something back for our guest as well, preferably a warm meal. I prefer to make our gentleman as comfortable as possible, instead of what the Duke wants," says the Captain as the two men leave to join the others.

The Captain of the Guards then gets off his horse and climbs onto the back of the cart and sits down in front of Kristian. As the Captain sits down, Kristian says, "I guess that I should thank you for what little hospitality that I am getting on this journey."

"There is not much to thank me for," replies the Captain. "I wouldn't call a hot meal much of a hospitality."

"It is more than the Duke would have given me," replies Kristian. "He would have just given me stale bread and water."

"Well if it was up to me, you would be riding in the carriage with the Duke instead of on the back of this cart," says the Captain.

"Truthfully, I prefer being on the back of this cart than with the Duke," replies Kristian "That man has always annoyed me."

"You seem to know the Duke from the past. How did you first come across him?" asks the Captain out of curiosity.

"It was earlier this year," replies Kristian. "The Duke came to my mountain home early in the spring. He wanted to hire my companion Goran to kill, what he called, a monstrous being capable of freezing everything. I just happen to travel with Goran to aid him in this task."

"So you are one of the two men responsible for the attempt against Arendelle's queen," says the Captain. "So how did you manage to become a royal emissary for Arendelle?"

"Well basically, I sided with the queen against my former companion. After that, she allowed me to stay in Arendelle; and we became good friends then," replies Kristian. "As for becoming an emissary, Queen Elsa wanted to try and provide me some protection on my journey. So far it hasn't done much for me, but then I never really thought that it would."

If I know the King of Weselton, I think that insignia of yours might help you more than you realize," says the Captain.

"Speaking of the king, how long will it take us to get to Weselton?" asks Kristian.

"With a good horse, a person could get to Weselton in a full day's ride," replies the Captain. "However, we are heading there by horse drawn cart. It should take a little over two days to get into the village of Weselton."

"So basically we should be arriving sometime tomorrow morning then," questions Kristian.

"If we maintain our pace, yes," replies the Captain.

In a few more minutes; the two guards that were riding on the cart return with two hot meals for the Captain and Kristian. Both Kristian and the Captain thank the men for the meals, and then they both consume their meals. Just as these men were finishing up their meals, the Duke of Weselton comes outside and heads towards his carriage.

"This is a most distasteful place for someone like me to stop and eat," complains the Duke. "It is more suited for commoners than someone of my position. The sooner we get moving the better." Then the Duke turns to the guards that are nearing their horses, and he says, "Let's get a move on men! The King of Weselton will want to see our prisoner! Drench the prisoner and let's get on our way!"

The Captain takes the food plate away from Kristain and hands the plates down to a villager. The next thing that happens is when one of the guards dumps a pail of water over Kristian. However, this time it was only one pail of water. The respect that the Captain of the Guards has shown to Kristian has shown up in the two guards that are traveling on the cart.

As the group continues to move down the road, the Captain of the Guards has decided to remain on the cart. The Captain's horse is tied to the back of the cart, and the Captain himself has decided to take a nap. With the Captain being relaxed, the other men begin to relax as well.

Their journey progresses without any serious incident. However, every time this party would stop, Kristian would get another bucket of water dumped over him. The guards, however, would only use one bucket of water now. Finally after a full day's journey, the party of men reaches a small village. This village is the last one before the village of Weselton. Everyone has been traveling for nearly 24 hours straight, and nearly everyone is feeling tired. These men have managed to get two days of travel into one day.

As the Duke climbs out of his carriage, he exclaims, "We'll stop here for the night! I seriously need to get a proper nights rest! You men! Guard the prisoner and make your own arrangements!"

When the Duke finishes giving his orders, he heads into the local inn and takes one of the better rooms for the night. Meanwhile, the men grumble among themselves over the callous regard the Duke has for their tired state.

"Go on men! Find a place to sleep! I've been resting during the day to be ready for tonight's guard duty," says the Captain of the Guards.

All the men are relieved, and many of them head into the inn to find cheap accommodations. However, one man stays behind. "Sir, I will be able to relieve you tonight," says this man.

"Are you sure you will be able too?" asks the Captain. "You may not get enough sleep after our full day."

"You are not the only one who has managed to rest during the day, sir," replies this man. "I will be sufficiently rested to relieve you later tonight."

"Very well then, get some sleep and I will see you later tonight," says the Captain.

"Yes sir," says that man as he leaves to find a place to sleep.

"You certainly do take care of your men," says Kristian as he watches the interactions of the Captain with his men.

"A good leader always understands the needs of his men," replies the Captain as he walks over to the cart with Kristian on it. "And sometimes it means making sacrifices on your own part to make sure that they are well cared for."

"It is a shame that you can't show me some of the same consideration. Still, you have managed to improve the deplorable treatment that I have been receiving under the Duke," says Kristain as he tries to make himself comfortable on the cart.

"There isn't a lot that I can do," replies the Captain. "However, I think that I can make your night a little more comfortable."

The Captain starts to walk over to the Duke's carriage. Then when the Captain reaches the carriage, he reaches into the carriage and pulls out a cushion and then he pulls down one of the curtains. Then the Captain carries these items over to Kristian and hands them to Kristian. "Here, they're not much, but they should improve the hard bed of that cart," says the Captain.

"Thanks, but I think the Duke is going to be upset with you in the morning," says Kristian with a smirk.

"Let him be upset," replies the Captain. "He hasn't impressed me much as a governor."

With the cushion and curtain in hand, Kristian sets about to make a better sleeping area on the cart. With his wrists chained together and with an anvil sitting in the center of the cart, it was not the most comfortable of sleeping arrangements. Still after a long rough day on a cart, Kristian falls asleep relatively easily.


	4. Chapter 4

Next morning, the men that are guarding Kristian are up early. There is some anticipation of arriving in Weselton, and they are now preparing their horses for the last few hours of the journey. It is during this time that the Captain of the Guards comes out with a plate of food and hands it to Kristian. Kristian thanks the Captain as he receives the food, and Kristian proceeds to eat as he watches everyone else. Just as Kristian was finishing up his breakfast, the Duke of Weselton comes out of the inn and heads towards his carriage. However, the Duke stops as he notices the missing curtain.

"What happened to my carriage!" exclaims the Duke.

"Our guest required some proper bedding to sleep with, and your carriage had the nearest items," replies the Captain.

"How dare you use my things for this creature!" exclaims the Duke as he begins to walk over to the cart. The Duke then stretches out his hand and says, "Hand them over demon!"

"Here!" exclaims Kristian as he flings the curtain at the Duke. The curtain partly covers the Duke and the Duke clumsily gathers it up in his arms. "Here, you probably want this too," says Kristian as he hands the cushion out to the Duke.

The Duke angrily reaches out and takes the cushion away from Kristian. However, as Kristian lets go of the cushion, he sets the edge of the cushion on fire. The Duke sees the flame, and he screams in fright at the burning cushion. Then the Duke throws the cushion on the ground and he begins to stomp the fire out. As the Duke was doing this, the guards begin to laugh at the Duke's predicament.

"Stop this laughter!" exclaims the Duke once the fire was out. "I've just been attacked by a monstrous being, and all you do is laugh at your superior! Captain, I expect you to reprimand your soldiers!"

"They will be sir, but right now I need them to escort our guest to Weselton," replies the Captain.

"See that you do," says the Duke as he heads back to his carriage. Then as he climbs into his carriage, the Duke says, "And Captain, make sure to thoroughly drench the prisoner before we move out."

"Yes sir," replies the Captain. Then the Captain turns towards the cart and says, "You heard the governor! Wet him down!"

The two guards on the cart each take a bucket of water, and they then throw that water onto Kristian. Once this was done, The Captain walks over to the partially burnt cushion and picks it up off the ground. Then the Captain carries it over to Kristian. Once he gets there, the Captain hands the cushion to Kristian. "I don't think the Duke wants this anymore," says the Captain.

"Thanks, I could use a little comfort," says Kristian as he accepts the cushion.

The Captain then climbs onto his horse, and the group then moves on down the road to Weselton.

In a few hours, this group of men finally reaches the village of Weselton. The Duke rides in his carriage like a proud conquering warrior. Behind the Duke's carriage, is the cart carrying Kristian and the guards on horses. People stop and watch as this procession proceeds towards the Palace of Weselton. At seeing these people, the Duke waves to them with pride. Soon this procession makes its way into the courtyard of the palace.

Once they have arrived at the palace, the Duke calls out to a nearby servant, as his carriage comes to a halt. "Notify the king that the Duke of Weselton has captured a dangerous creature. This creature was going to burn the village of Rivers Gorge."

This servant quickly runs to fetch the king. Meanwhile, the Duke climbs out of his carriage; and the guards get down off of their horses. Once on the ground the Duke then walks towards the door of the palace and the Captain of the Guards is right behind him. Just as these men enter the palace, the King of Weselton comes walking towards them.

Ah your majesty," says the Duke as he takes a bow. The Captain also bows, but he does not bow as low as the Duke.

"Uncle, I did not expect to see you today," replies the king.

"I thought it was necessary, when I caught a monster in Rivers Gorge," says the Duke. "And I brought him here, so you could witness this unholy creation with your own eyes."

"So what makes this creature so unusual that you think it was necessary to bring it before me?" asks a skeptical king.

This monster has the ability to unleash a demon's fire against any god fearing soul," replies the Duke. "I was able to capture it before it did any damage to the village of Rivers Gorge."

The king then turns towards the Captain, and then he asks, "Is this true, Captain?"

"Yes sir. What the Duke has said is generally correct," replies the Captain.

"Generally correct?" questions the king. "So you believe the Duke is over embellishing the matter."

"Sir, we did encounter a gentleman that does have the ability to produce fire from his hands," replies the Captain. "However, this man only came to our attention when the Duke pointed him out to us. Before that, no one even knew about this gentleman's powers."

"So this monster that the Duke is talking about is a man," says a surprised king. "Let me see this gentleman for myself."

The king then proceeds to walk out of the front doors, and he is followed out the doors by the Duke and the Captain. As the three men near the cart with Kristian, the Duke gives an order to the guards on the cart. "Drench the prisoner!"

The two guards on the cart then dump a couple of buckets of water onto Kristian. The king witnesses this, and he is surprised by this action. "Was that necessary?" asks the king.

"Water keeps him from using the fire that he controls," replies the Duke. Then the Duke turns to the guards on the ground and says, "Bring this monster before the king!"

With this order, Kristian is unchained from the anvil and he is helped off of the cart. As Kristian is brought down off the cart, a few of the men guarding Kristian have drawn their swords. Then they follow behind as Kristian is escorted with a man on each of his arms. Finally, Kristian stands before the King of Weselton and the Duke.

For a brief moment, Kristian stands there dripping wet. Then Kristian gives a slight bow and says calmly, "Your majesty."

The king looks Kristian over for a moment, and then he finally says, "This is what you are afraid of? He doesn't seem all that special to me."

"I swear to you my lord, this man is extremely dangerous," replies the Duke. Then the Duke turns towards Kristian and then he demands, "Tell the king exactly what you are, or you will be imprisoned in the dungeons until you do speak the truth!"

Kristian bows again, and then he says, "What I was, your majesty was a servant of the Duke here."

"What!" exclaims the Duke. "Your majesty, he lies!"

"As I understand, your majesty, you have been made aware of what has happened in Arendelle a few months ago," says Kristian.

"Yes, I am aware of what my uncle the Duke had done in Arendelle," replies the king. "In a misguided attempt, he hired a couple of men to do away with the Queen of Arendelle; an attempt that ultimately failed."

"I was one of those two men, sire," says Kristian. "I am one of those men that the Duke hired."

The king turns towards the Duke and asks, "Is this true uncle?"

"Sire, I… um…, well yes," stammers the Duke. "But I didn't know that both men were fire demons! It was how I knew that this man was dangerous! That is why I captured him for you!"

"Did you capture this man for me or for yourself," says the king with some displeasure. Then turning towards Kristian, the king asks, "So why did the Queen of Arendelle let you live?"

"Because sire, I help Queen Elsa defeat my former companion," replies Kristian. "And for assisting her, the queen has allowed me to live in Arendelle."

"Sire you cannot believe what he says," interrupts the Duke. "This… this Snow Queen of Arendelle would never accept anyone with such volatile fire to live in her kingdom."

"Sire, not only has she allowed me to live in Arendelle; but she has also given me this," says Kristian as he pulls the Arendelle insignia out of his shirt.

"The Arendelle seal," says the King of Weselton.

"Sir, he could have stolen that!" exclaims the Duke. "How do we know that the Queen of Arendelle gave that to him?"

"The Duke's point is valid," replies the king. "How do we know that you just didn't steal that insignia?"

"I did have a decree from the queen in my pack, my lord," replies Kristian. "However, I have no idea where that parchment would be now."

"Did you search his pack?" asks the king of the Duke.

"He did not, sire," replies the Captain of the Guards as he steps forward. "But I took it upon myself to examine his pack." Then the Captain takes a parchment out of his pocket and presents it to the king. "And I found this in his pack."

When the Duke sees this partially charred piece of paper, he suddenly becomes very nervous. Meanwhile, the king accepts this parchment from the Captain and begins to read it. "This is a decree from Arendelle," says the king with some surprise. "Was this document burned when you found it?" asks the king of the Captain.

""No sir, it was burned after I found it in," replies the Captain.

The king is starting to become displeased with what the Captain has been telling him. "Tell me Captain, how did this decree become singed?" asks the king.

"Sire, it happened when I gave the parchment for the Duke to review," replies the Captain. "After he finished reading the document, the Duke became agitated. Then after a brief discussion the Duke decided to…"

"My lord!" interrupts the Duke. "Why would it even matter if this monster is an emissary from the Kingdom of Arendelle? Diplomatic ties have been broken with that kingdom. After the way that I have been treated by their queen, I see no reason to recognize the existence of the Kingdom of Arendelle."

"Uncle, their queen had every right to treat you the way that she did!" exclaims the king. "You literally tried to do away with her, not once but twice! You were lucky that all she did was banish you from Arendelle!"

"But my lord, the first time I was trying to save everyone from an unnatural winter; and the second time I was acting on your orders," says the Duke trying to explain why he did what he did.

"I can forgive you for the first attempt, uncle; but I cannot forgive you for the second attempt," replies the king. "I did not give you orders to change the leadership in Arendelle. I just directed you to try and reestablish trade with Arendelle."

"How did you expect me to try and reestablish trade?" objects the Duke. "The Queen of Arendelle hates me! I had to trick my way into a meeting with her! Even then, the queen would not give in to the pressure that I applied to her! The only way that I could see, to get the Queen of Arendelle to agree with a trade agreement, was to offer her the protection of Weselton!"

"I did not send you there to succeed, uncle!" exclaims the king angrily. "I sent you there to grovel and to ask her majesty for forgiveness! You were supposed to pave the way for a later diplomatic mission! Now I have to restart the diplomacy with Arendelle from scratch, and now you are even jeopardizing that with the restraining of their queen's emissary! Not to mention the fact that your attempted assassination of the Queen of Arendelle has jeopardized some of the other trade arrangements with other kingdoms!

"I am the Duke of Weselton! It is beneath my station to humiliate myself in front of others!" objects the Duke.

"Enough uncle! If your position in my kingdom does not allow you to humble yourself before others, then maybe I should reduce your position in Weselton!" strongly states the king.

"But my lord!" exclaims the Duke in protest.

"That will be enough!" demands the king. "Your presence is no longer required or desired!"

Now the Duke stands there in shock. This wasn't supposed to be what was to happen. The capture of Kristian was supposed to restore the Duke in his rightful place in the palace. Now the king is actually dismissing him, and he is even threatening to demote the Duke even more. After standing there, looking at the stern face of the king, the Duke realizes that there is nothing he can say or do to change the king's mind. So finally the Duke bows towards the king, and he departs. The Duke heads into the palace, and he ventures up to a room that has been designated as his whenever he is at the palace.


	5. Chapter 5

Once the Duke has departed from the presence of the king, the king turns towards the Captain and says, "Release the Arendelle ambassador from his chains."

Obeying the king, the Captain of the Guards heads over to Kristian; and with a key, he unlocks the cuffs around Kristian's wrists. These cuffs drop to the ground with a clang, and Kristian rubs his wrists afterwards.

Kristian is relieved with how things have gone so far, and he is also a bit surprised. Kristian had hoped that the King of Weselton would be more understanding than the Duke, but he didn't expect to witness a verbal chastising by the king towards the Duke. Kristian actually enjoyed watching this reprimand that the Duke received.

Once Kristian was freed from his chains, the King of Weselton steps forward and hands Kristian back the decree. At the same time, the king says, "My apologies for the manner in which my uncle has treated you. After the incident at the spring festival of Arendelle, I thought that the best thing was to move the Duke away from the sea ports. I thought that if he was away from the ports, the Duke would not be able to cause another incident with Arendelle."

"Well, you can blame this incident on my past dealings with the Duke," replies Kristian. "To him, I didn't fulfill my end of our deal; but thankfully the worst thing that I got from him was being soaked every few hours."

"Yes, well at least I can try and rectify that now," says the king. "Come inside and I will arrange for some dry clothes for you to wear."

"That is kind of you, sire," replies Kristian. "However, all I really need is a little privacy. I can easily dry my own clothing. However, the display of my abilities is unnerving to those that have not seen it before. I would not want to cause a commotion if I can help it."

"Of course, I can have you shown to a private quarters," says the king as he begins to walk into the palace. The king also motions for Kristian to follow him.

Kristian follows the King of Weselton into the palace, and the Captain of the Guards follows then both. Once inside the palace, the king motions to a servant to come over. As this servant nears the king, the king turns towards Kristian and says, "This servant will take you to a private chamber; and once you have refreshed yourself, I look forward to giving you a proper welcome to the Kingdom of Weselton."

"Thank you, your majesty," says Kristian as he gives a slight bow to the king, before he follows the servant to a room.

Shortly after Kristian departs, the king turns to the Captain and asks, "So what are your impressions of this young man, and how much of a threat is he?"

"Sir, I would say that this man is an independent person," replies the Captain. "He seems to have a respect for others, but he does not take well at being given orders. He will fight if he feels it is necessary; and because of this, I do think he is a threat. However, I think he would only be a threat if we acted against him first."

It sounds like a typical dealing with any king then," replies the King of Weselton with a smile.

The Captain smiles as well and replies, "Yes sir, but this king is very capable of defending himself."

"And what do you know about his mission then," asks the king. "Why is he here in Weselton?"

"I don't know what his mission is, sire," replies the Captain. "However, I would say that the mission he is on for the Queen of Arendelle is outside the Kingdom of Weselton. It was during his leaving of Rivers Gorge that this gentleman was captured."

"I am not sure if that is good or bad," comments the king. "Still, having an emissary from Arendelle here in Weselton is an opportunity I cannot afford to waste. I must make the most of this time."

* * *

><p>Once Kristian gets up into a private bedroom, he lets out a sigh and slumps into a chair there. Kristian sits there a while just looking around the room. It was a nice room and it was well maintain. Kristian figures this is one of the more modest bedrooms in the palace. Certainly there had to be better and grander rooms in the palace, but this one suited Kristian just fine.<p>

After a moment of relaxing in the chair, Kristian gets up and walks over to a water basin in the room. Once there Kristian spends some time cleaning himself up, as he tries to make himself look more presentable to the king. Once Kristian had finished preparing himself, he walks over to a window to look down at the village of Weselton.

Kristian has some mixed emotions about this village. On one hand, Kristian would like to explore this new village; but during the last village that Kristian explored, he got himself into trouble. There was also the fact that Kristian was already several days behind schedule. Kristian figured that it would take him at least four days for him to walk back to the village of Rivers Gorge, and that would mean he would be traveling on the main road back. Kristian dislikes this idea because he had been trying to maintain a low profile. The main road would expose Kristian to many more people and many more possible problems.

Finally Kristian decides that this view, out the palace window, will be all the exploring of the village of Weselton that he will do. After several minutes of looking out this window, a knock is heard coming from the bedroom door. Kristian turns towards the bedroom and says, "Come in."

The door opens and a servant enters the room. The servant then says, "Good day, sir. The king is wondering if you would care to dine with him this noon."

"Actually, I am a bit short on time," replies Kristian. "However, if he so desires, I could hang around till noon."

"Very well sir, I will notify the king of your decision," replies the servant before he departs the room.

Kristian then turns back towards the window and checks out Weselton again. Finally with a sigh, Kristian says, "I guess I should go see the king. He will most likely want to have a more detailed explanation of my situation. I just hope that I don't end up in trouble again." So Kristian turns and walks to the bedroom door. He then heads down stairs to have a meeting with the King of Weselton.

In a few moments, Kristian is escorted to the presence of the king. As Kristian enters the room, the king greets him. "Ah the ambassador of Arendelle, I see you have managed to freshen yourself."

Kristian comes to a stop in front of the king, and he gives his majesty a slight bow. "All I needed was a little time to recover from the Duke's harsh treatment of me," replies Kristian. "The room you provided was more than adequate for that purpose."

"Just consider it the beginning of my attempt to atone for my uncle's mistakes," says the king.

"It is not your fault for what the Duke has done," replies Kristian. "He acted on his own when he took me captive. Still I am grateful for your hospitality."

"I wasn't just thinking of the incident of the past few days," says the king. "I was also taking into account the previous two incidents in Arendelle. The Duke stepped over the boundaries of appropriate behavior for an ambassador on both occasions."

"You shouldn't be trying to make up for those incidents with me," replies Kristian. "I had nothing to do with the first incident, and the second incident was not directed against me. Both of those times involved the Queen of Arendelle. She should be the one you should be atoning to."

"But you are a representative of Arendelle," questions the king. "The queen made you an emissary. So you have the authority to act on the queen's behalf in foreign lands."

"Yes the queen made me an emissary, but I really am not the best representative for Arendelle. I have only been a resident there for the past few months," replies Kristian. "Queen Elsa only made me an emissary to help protect me on my journey."

"Then the queen considers you to be very important to offer you such a title," states the king. "So this journey you are on, may I inquire what this mission for Arendelle is about?"

"Excuse me?" says a puzzled Kristian. "But my journey has nothing to do with Arendelle. I am simply heading back to my former home to retrieve items that I don't want to be without. Once I have obtained them, I will be heading back to Arendelle."

With surprise, the king replies, "A personal journey! I would have thought that since you have a written decree, you were on a mission for the queen."

"In a way, you can say that I am on a mission for Queen Elsa," says Kristian. "She wishes for me to return to Arendelle, and I want to honor that wish by returning to Arendelle as soon as possible."

"So that is the reason that you have declined my offer to supper," replies the king. "You want to return to your journey."

"Yes; and because of the Duke, I am at least four days behind where I wanted to be at this time," says Kristian. "It will take me that long just to walk back to Rivers Gorge."

"That is a matter that I can take care of," replies the king. "I will loan you the use of my fastest carriage to get you to Rivers Gorge. On the condition, that you deliver a written message to the Queen of Arendelle for me."

"Don't you have your own royal ambassadors that could deliver the message?" asks Kristian.

"Yes, but ever since the Duke's last visit there, I have been reluctant to send someone else," replies the king. "I thought it was best to let the queen calm down before I attempted to send another person. However, if you would deliver the message, I wouldn't have to chance one of my own emissaries."

Yes, Queen Elsa would not be all that receptive to someone from Weselton," says Kristian. "All right, I will deliver your message to the queen. A simple parchment will not take up that much space in my pack."

"Excellent! Now with that settled, will you now accept an invite to an early meal?" asks the king. "It will take a little time to prepare my carriage for the journey."

"Of course your majesty," replies Kristian. "I will look forward to tasting the skills of your cooks."

"I assure you, that you will not be disappointed by their expertise," says the king.

With the meal settled, the king goes about and instructs his servants to prepare the meal. The king also has a meeting with his own chancellor. This meeting is held in order to prepare two documents for Kristian to take with him. One of these documents is addressed to Queen Elsa.

While the king is busy preparing these documents, Kristian is shown up to a lounge area on the second floor. This room has an excellent view of Weselton and it is well furnished. Kristian spends most of his time just looking out the window here. In what seemed like no time at all to Kristian, he is summoned to partake in the prepared meal.

When Kristian is finally led to the dining hall, he is greeted there by the king; and then he is shown to his place at the table. This room is grand and the table is splendid in nature. For Kristian, this room is a little uncomfortable. However, Kristian had attended a few stately dinners in Arendelle with Elsa and Anna. So Kristian understood what he was most likely to see during this meal.

While these two men talked, most of the discussion centered on Kristian and his time in Arendelle. Also Goran was discussed. The king also brought up a few topics on events concerning Weselton, and how Arendelle was part of those events needing his attention.

For Kristian, this social setting was pleasant enough. Though this type of setting was not Kristian's favorite. Kristian would have preferred something a little more casual, than this stately feel. Still Kristian was very pleased with the meal that he received. Kristian was very impressed with the quality of food, especially since the cooks had little time to prepare the meal.

Soon the noon hour was approaching, and Kristian was starting to get a little anxious to get on the road. Finally a servant comes into the room, and he addresses the king. "My lord, the carriage has been prepared like you have asked," says the servant.

"Excellent!" exclaims the king as he gets up from the table. "I'm glad that everything has been arranged at the appropriate hour."

The king then walks over to Kristian, as Kristian gets up from the table. The king then motions in the direction that he wants Kristian to go. As Kristian begins to walk in that direction, the king begins to walk alongside of him.

As the two men enter a large hall, the Chancellor of Weselton approaches them. "Your majesty, I have the two documents that you have requested," says the Chancellor.

"Thank you for your diligent work," says the king as he takes the two documents from the Chancellor.

The king then turns towards Kristian and begins to hand the two documents to him. "Here you go Kristian. This first document, with the royal wax seal closing it, is the letter for the Queen of Arendelle," says the king. "This other document is a decree from me to you."

"A decree?" questions Kristian as he takes the documents from the king. "What is it for?"

"That decree states that you are granted free passage through the Kingdom of Weselton," replies the king. "If any of my subjects give you any difficulty, show them this document. If they hinder your movement through Weselton, they will have to answer for their actions in front of me."

"I don't understand?" says Kristian. "For what reason, are you giving me this for? It is not like I have done anything to deserve this from you."

"It is a simple atonement for the Duke's action," replies the king. "Besides, from what I have understood of your last time in Rivers Gorge, allowing you to freely pass is a safer alternative. Not to mention the good will I might receive from the Queen of Arendelle."

"Ah, I see," says Kristian with a smile. "It is just a little bit of diplomatic maneuvering going on."

"I hope you won't object to this display of goodwill," replies the king.

"I'm hardly in a position to object," comments Kristian. "You have been more than gracious to me, and I will gladly accept all the assistance that you have given me."

My assistance isn't over yet," replies the king. "Shall we continue outside?"

Kristian nods in the affirmative, as the two men once begin their motion. Once Kristian and the king reach the courtyard of the palace, Kristian notices a sleek carriage with four horses in front of it. Next to this carriage, stands the Captain of the Guards that road with Kristian from Rivers Gorge.

"Good day Captain. Are you ready to escort our guest on his journey?" says the king as he greets the Captain of the Guards.

"Yes, your majesty," replies the Captain. "I have loaded everything on board, including Kristian's pack."

"Very good Captain," says the king.

Then Kristian steps forward and asks the Captain, "You are going to escort me back to Rivers Gorge?"

"Yes sir," replies the Captain. "The king thought that you would have fewer problems if I was to provide you security back to Rivers Gorge."

"I thought that it would be best if you had an official escort; and with the Captain, he can clear some obstacles that may arise with other people," says the king.

"Once again, I thank you your majesty," replies Kristian. "Now if it is alright with you, I would like to take my leave and continue my journey."

"Of course, I will not detain you any longer," says the king. "May fortune favor you on your journey."

Kristian bows to the king and he then walks towards the carriage. Once he gets there, the Captain assists Kristian into the carriage; and then he climbs in as well. Once both men are seat, the carriage begins to roll. The horses trot swiftly out of the palace gates and through the village of Weselton. As they move through the village of Weselton, Kristian cannot help but notice the stares that they are receiving.

"They must be staring because this is the king's royal carriage," comments Kristian.

"Yes, the king's carriage is well known," replies the Captain. "Plus, some people may already know who the passenger is on the king's carriage. Word can spread quickly, especially when someone of the royal family is humiliated in front of the king."

"I hope I don't get blamed for it," says Kristian.

"Few would blame you for the Duke's actions," replies the Captain. "The Duke is the one who made this situation for himself. So you need not to worry about other's thoughts on the matter."

It only takes a few minutes for the carriage to leave the village of Weselton, and soon it is traveling through the countryside. The team of horses pulling the carriage is swift, and the carriage itself rides smoothly over the road. It also doesn't hurt that the seats on the carriage are cushioned and they can absorb some of the bumps along the road.

During the carriage ride, the Captain takes a nap. The Captain had a short night of sleep last night, and he was taking this time to catch up on his sleep. As for Kristian, he was taking in the scenery as the carriage moved through the country. On his way to Weselton, Kristian did not have a good view of the country he was passing through. Now Kristian was sitting high, and he had a comfortable seat to take in the sights of Weselton.

The carriage quickly traverses over the road without stopping for several hours. Finally, the carriage pulls into a hamlet to allow its passengers a moment to eat. Kristian and the Captain enter one of the buildings and obtain a meal from the owner. The Captain and Kristian sit down and chat as they eat their meals. Both men are respectful of each other, and their conversation does not stray very far into personal matters.

Just as these two men are finishing their meal a commotion is heard outside. "What is going on out there?" questions the Captain as he stands.

The Captain then walks over to the door and Kristian stands up and follows him. As both men exit the building, the Captain asks one of people outside, "What is all the commotion about?"

This person looks over to the Captain and then he points to the sky. "Sir, something unholy is up in the sky!" says this person. "A fire is streaking through the air!"

The Captain and Kristian look up into the sky, and in the distance a fire can be seen going through the air. "That's Mattias," says Kristian. "He is still searching for me. I'm rather impressed that he is now searching this far south."

"He is causing a commotion," replies the Captain with displeasure. "You need to find a way to stop your bird before real panic sets in."

"Not a problem; but we should be out of the sight of others, unless you want to explain me to the people here," says Kristian.

"Very well, we will continue to Rivers Gorge until we find a secluded field," replies the Captain as he heads to the carriage.

Kristian follows the Captain to the carriage, and both men climb on board. Soon the carriage moves down the road in the direction of Rivers Gorge. As the carriage moves down the road, cheers can be heard from the people of the hamlet.

"What are those people cheering for?" asks a puzzled Kristian.

"It is obvious," replies the Captain. "We are heading in the direction of your firebird. They think we are going to take care of this danger."

"Mattias is not a danger," says Kristian with some annoyance.

"You and I may know that; but to those people back there, Mattias is a danger," replies the Captain.

In a couple of minutes, the carriage has reached an open field; and it pulls off to the side of the road. The Captain and Kristian climb out of the carriage, and Kristian then turns towards the Captain.

"You should wait here for a moment, Captain," says Kristian. "Mattias must feel that it is safe for him to land, and Mattias is a little uncomfortable around strangers."

Now Kristian walks away from the carriage and finds a space that is out in the middle of everything. The Captain and the carriage are still in view, but they are several yards away. After looking around at his surrounds, to make sure this spot is adequate, Kristian raises a hand up into the air. In a brief moment, flame develops around this hand; and then Kristian fires a fireball straight into the air. This fireball climbs high into the air before it bursts apart with a low sounding boom. Small fragments of fire spread across the sky for a moment before they burn themselves out in the air.

Seeing this display unnerves the Captain, but he doesn't allow it to upset him. The Captain's duties are to obey the king. Besides, if Kristian was a real danger, he would have acted before now.

In a few moments, the Captain is able to see Mattias in the sky. Initial Mattias swoops high over the field. Then the firebird circles around the edge of the field. What Mattias is doing is that he is making sure that the place is safe. As Mattias circles, Kristian holds out his arm for the firebird to land on. Finally Mattias swoops in on Kristian and lands on Kristian's arm.

"Hey Mattias, did you miss me?" asks a happy Kristian. Mattias replies by screeching in the affirmative. "I am glad to see you too, old friend," replies Kristian.

With Mattias on his arm, Kristian walks back to the carriage. As they near the carriage, Mattias lets out a slight hiss at the Captain. "Mattias, it is all right," comforts Kristian. "The Captain here is… well… kind of a friend. I suppose you could call him an acquaintance but a friendly acquaintance." Mattias settles down, but he is still leery of the Captain.

"At least you have got your bird under control now," says the Captain.

"It is control, in the looses of sense," replies Kristian. "Mattias, here, is free to do what he wants. Fortunately, he wants to do them with me."

"Anyway, it would be best if he stays out of sight," says the Captain as he climbs back into the carriage. "Well, shall we continue our ride then? There are still a few hours of daylight left."

"Of course," replies Kristian as he lifts Mattias up over his head. Mattias then takes flight. "Mattias will now stay out of sight as long as he knows where I am at," says Kristian as he climbs into the carriage. "So Captain, how long do you think it will take us to get back to Rivers Gorge?"

"If we keep going during the night, we shall reach Rivers Gorge before dawn; but I suggest we stop for the night," replies the Captain.

"Sounds fair enough," replies Kristian. "It would be best if I could rest before I take on the next part of my journey."

For the next couple of hours the carriage continues down the road. It passes through a few more small hamlets before it comes to another village. Here the carriage comes to a stop, and its passengers disembark for the night. Mattias too finds a place to rest. However, this time Mattias finds a spot in the opposite direction than which they were heading. Mattias does not want the same thing to happen this night as what happened when Mattias lost Kristian.

* * *

><p>The night passes uneventful for everyone, except for a few singed covers on the bed of Kristian. Kristian easily pays for the damage to the sheets, and the Captain and he sit down for an early morning meal. The sun had barely begun to peak when the men had gotten up from their beds.<p>

Once the men had finished eating, they both headed out to the carriage. Soon they were once again on their way to Rivers Gorge. As they were moving out of the village, Kristian pulls out a whistle and blows on it. This whistle notifies Mattias that they were once again on the move. In a few minutes later, the firebird can be seen flying just over the carriage through the tops of the trees. It takes several more hours of riding at a quick pace; but by the noon hour, the carriage nears the village of Rivers Gorge.

As the village comes into view, Kristian speaks up. "I don't mind telling you that it is a good feeling to be back here," says Kristian to the Captain. "Just seeing that village lets me know that I am almost back on my way. Right now, I'm only a day and a half behind where I want to be."

"Well, I wouldn't worry about that lost time," replies the Captain. "In a few days you will be ahead of schedule."

Kristian looks over to the Captain; and with a puzzled look, he asks, "Why? What do you mean by that?"

"The king has ordered me to provide you a horse for your journey," replies the Captain. "The king wanted to make sure that you were able to make up the time you lost."

"A horse!" exclaims Kristian. "I really shouldn't accept such an extravagant gift as a horse!"

"It won't be a gift. It is a loan," replies the Captain. "You said that you will be returning to Arendelle. So the king wants to loan you a horse to take you to your destination and then to return you to Weselton. So when you come back to Weselton, you can return the horse then."

The King of Weselton is going beyond what I would have expected from him," comments Kristian.

"Diplomacy has gotten difficult since the Duke's last visit to Arendelle," replies the Captain. "If the king can smooth things out with Arendelle, other diplomatic matters will ease. Still if you return the horse in good shape, I see no problem in allowing you the availability of a horse."

"Thank you, and I will return the horse in good condition," says Kristian.

Finally the carriage pulls into the castle near Rivers Gorge. As the Captain and Kristian climb down from the carriage, the Captain says, "While a horse is being prepared for you, let me offer you a meal before you head out."

"Very well Captain, I will accept your offer," replies Kristian. "I could use a break from the carriage ride anyway."

With that said, the Captain of the Guards leads Kristian into the castle; and a meal is prepared for the two men by the castle staff. In a short while, both men have an excellent meal; and once they have finished with their meal, Kristian prepares to depart.

Outside in the castle courtyard, Kristian is presented with a horse. This horse is equipped with a fine saddle and saddle bags. On the bridle halter of this horse, a person can easily see the emblem of Weselton.

Kristian takes some time to load the saddle bags with things from his pack. Once Kristian had lightened his pack, he then climbs into the saddle with what is left in his pack slung over his back.

"Thank you again Captain," says Kristian as he looks down at the Captain of the Guards.

"You don't have to thank me. This was the king's orders," replies the Captain of the Guards.

"Still, you didn't need to give me such a fine animal, and I promise to return him to your care," says Kristian. "If things go well, I shall return the horse in two weeks."

With the final pleasantries exchanged, Kristian rides out of the castle and into the village of Rivers Gorge.


	6. Chapter 6

(OK, I'll admit that the incident in Weselton has very little to do with the story I have in mind. It was just an idea that I thought I would go with.)

As Kristian rides through the village of Rivers Gorge, he is able to witness the villagers' reaction to him as he passes through. Some people still run and hide when they see Kristian pass. Others stand dumbfounded by the fact that Kristian has returned. In any event, the whole village has become silent as Kristian moves through the village.

These people's reactions, make Kristian feel uncomfortable. So Kristian tries not to look at anyone, and he increases the speed of his horse to a quick trot. Soon Kristian nears the bridge. As he nears the bridge, thoughts of what had happened, not quite three days ago, begin to bother Kristian.

Suddenly, Kristian's hands flare up. So Kristian quickly stops the horse and pulls his hand up in front of him. Kristian then clenches his fists and closes his eyes. He then takes a few deep breaths, as Kristian settles down his thoughts. Finally the fire on his hands disappears. Once this happens, Kristian pulls out a pair of leather gloves out of his satchel and puts them on. Then Kristian rides his horse across the bridge, and he makes it across the bridge without an incident. As soon as Kristian makes it across the bridge, he sets the horse into a gallop. Soon Kristian disappears into the countryside, and he is once again fully on his way back to his mountain home.

Now with a horse to ride, a pouch full of money, and two decrees from two separate kingdoms; Kristian spends less time trying to avoid people. Besides, Weselton was the only real concern Kristian had on this trip. While Kristian did have difficulty in the Kingdom of Weselton, his encounter with the king may have been a blessing.

No problems occur in the other kingdoms that Kristian has to pass through; and in a very short time, Kristian reaches an area of the broader country known as the Wilderness. This is a place where few people live and where there is little human activity. Most people who live out here are trying to avoid others, or they are people trying to make a living off of the resources of the Wilderness. It is in this territory that the mountain home of Kristian is located.

Finally, Kristian begins to ride up the mountain that his former home is located on. As Kristian rides up this mountain, he passes some very familiar spots. It was here that Kristian learned how to live off the land, and it is also where Kristian learned how to use his magic.

Soon Kristian comes to a large stream. It is here that Kristian stops for a moment. Just a little distance away, there sits a tree next to the stream. It was this tree that Kristian would often fish as a boy. It was also under this tree that Kristian's life began to change dramatically.

Several years ago, when Kristian was fishing as a boy, a strange man had come to the mountain. Kristian was startled and scared when he saw this man. That day was also the day that Kristian lost his mother. Initially Kristian had thought that this stranger was responsible for his mother's death. However, it was only a few months ago that Kristian had found out what had really happened that day. The man was not a stranger but it was his father, and he had come to take his mother and him away. However Goran, the man that Kristian and his mother were living with, wasn't going to let Kristian go. In order to keep Kristian on the mountain, Goran had done away with Kristian's father and mother.

After sitting on his horse a while, thinking of this day, Kristian finally begins to move. In a little while, Kristian comes to a tree that is in full bloom. Under this tree, there sits a grave with a tombstone. This grave is the finally resting place for Kristian's mother.

Kristian climbs down off of his horse and he walks over to the tombstone. This tombstone had been carved beautifully by Kristian. Kristian had worked hard to perfect his talent at carving stones with his flame. Kristian wanted to make sure that he was able to give his mother a proper headstone. Now Kristian kneels down in front of the stone and begins to brush the dust off of its surface. "Hello, mom," says Kristian to the headstone.

As Kristian was cleaning the stone, Mattias has flown and landed in one of the branches of the tree. As Mattias begins to settle down in the tree, Kristian continues to speak to the headstone. "I've got some good news mom. I've managed to find myself a new home, along with some new friends. I know you would have been happy for me. You always wanted me to have a normal life, and friends that would think of me first and not my magic. Not only did I manage to find a normal life, I found it in a village with a harbor. I know what you might be thinking mom. A harbor constantly has people coming and going. It would nearly be impossible to prevent people finding out about me; but the thing is, I don't need to keep my powers a secret any more. The whole village knows what I am, and I don't have to fear their reaction to me."

"I even have the blessing of the royal family that lives in the village of Arendelle. And do you want to know something else mom, I actually found myself a girlfriend. I sometimes have trouble believing it myself. Her name is Elsa, and she is the Queen of Arendelle. So far things have been going well between us, but I wonder if it will continue that way. You know mother, she reminds me a bit of you. Maybe that is why I like her. I wish you were here to see how things are going for me, but still I know you would be happy."

Kristian now lets out a sigh before he continues talking to the headstone. "Tomorrow may be the last time that I may be able to be here with you mom, but I will make sure you will not be left alone." With that said Kristian heads back to his horse, and he rides him to the plateau with the two houses on it.

Once there, Kristian ties the horse up and heads to a small storage shed. From this shed, Kristian retrieves a shovel, and then he heads back down on foot to his mother's grave. In a few minutes, Kristian is once again by the headstone, and he begins to dig. The hole that Kristian digs is actually off to the side of the headstone a few feet. Kristian continues to dig the hole until the hole is at least three feet deep and about the length of a man's body.

Once the hole was dug, Kristian then travels further down the mountain to a spot of broken rock and rough terrain. Soon Kristian manages to get to a particular spot where there was a rock slide. Now Kristian stands before this pile of rocks, and he sends his magic into the pile. Initially the surface of the rocks glow red, but the red color soon fades away into the center of the rock pile. Soon the rock pile begins to shake and rumble. Then a fireball erupts in the center of the pile and the rocks go flying up and outward. Now the ground is bare except for one thing. A skeleton lies where the rocks once stood.

Kristian walks over to the skeleton and kneels down next to it. "Hello dad," says a sad Kristian. "I'm sorry that I did not know who you were. If I had, maybe you and mom would not be dead right now, but then again maybe I would be laying right next to you now. Goran may have killed us all if he found out that I was leaving."

Kristian has been examining the body as he has been talking. As he does, his eyes fall upon a tattered ribbon around the neck of the skeleton. Kristian pulls this ribbon off of the skeleton, and a metal insignia hangs from this ribbon. "A royal insignia," says Kristian as he examines the emblem. "I don't recognize the kingdom. I just wish my mother had told me more about where I had come from. Then maybe I would know where this had come from."

Kristian then places this insignia into a pouch, and he then pulls out a large cloth out of his satchel. Kristian spreads this cloth on the ground, and then he carefully moves the bones onto this cloth. Once the bones are on this cloth, Kristian wraps the cloth around the bones. With the bones secured in the cloth, Kristian proceeds to build a simple skid to move the bones on. Finally Kristian places the bones on the skid, and he proceeds to pull the skid over to the hole he had dug next to his mother.

Now Kristian carefully places the bones of his father into this freshly dug grave, and then he proceeds to cover the bones. Once Kristian is finish filling the hole, he looks up in the tree at Mattias. Mattias had been following Kristian around as Kristian worked. Now Kristian needs Mattias to do some work.

"Hey Mattias," says Kristian as he stretches his arm out to the firebird. Mattias responds by flying down to Kristian's arm. "Good boy, now are you ready to do me a favor?"

Mattias replies by screeching in the affirmative. "Thanks. I need you to find a nice flat stone for me to use as a headstone for my father. Can you do that for me?" asks Kristian.

Again Mattias screeches in the affirmative; and with this positive affirmation, Kristian begins to fill Mattias with his magic. The firebird begins to grow in size and soon Mattias stands taller than Kristian. Once Mattias is of sufficient size, the firebird takes to the air to begin his search. As the firebird leaves the ground, small swirls of flame are seen coming off of his wing tips.

As Mattias searches for a stone, Kristian turns back towards the two graves. "There you go mom, now you have dad to keep you company after all of these years," says Kristian. "I am sorry that I was the one that kept the two of you apart, but now you both can be together again."

Now it only takes Mattias a few minutes to find a stone that is suitable for a headstone. When he finds this stone, Mattias grabs the stone in his talons and flaps strongly. Now instead of small flame swirls, there are large blasts of flame coming off the wings of Mattias. Mattias has to use some of the fire energy within him to lift the stone off the ground. Soon Mattias flies the stone back to Kristian, and he places the stone at the head of the grave.

"Thanks Mattias," says Kristian as he steps towards this stone.

Now Mattias steps away and he allows the fire within to flare up all over his body. As his fire burns, the magic leaves Mattias' body. As it does, Mattias shrinks back to his normal size.

Now Kristian extends his hands forward and flames shoot off of his hands and strike the stone. Soon the stone is awash in flame as the flame polishes the stone to a gleaming finish. The flame also creates a perfectly smooth surface on the front side of the stone. Once Kristian is done polishing the stone, he then steps forward and pulls his father's insignia out of his pouch and stands it up on top of the stone. Now he steps back; and using his flame, Kristian recreates this insignia on the front of the stone. Kristian also carves the name of his father on the front of the stone as well.

Once Kristian was done carving, he walks forward and places the insignia back into a pouch. "Well mom, dad; It's getting late, and I need to get busy in the house," says Kristian to the stones. "I'm going to be living in the village of Arendelle, and I want to take some things with me. I want to get a few items packed before I head off to sleep. So I will see you both tomorrow then." With that said Kristian and Mattias head back to the house on the plateau.

The house that Kristian enters is made of stone with a peaked roof. The roof itself is made of round timbers with heavy planks covering the timbers. On top of these planks lay stone slab shingles that act as protection against the elements.

As Kristian enters this house; Mattias, who has been sitting on Kristian's shoulder, flies off of Kristian's shoulder and lands in the fireplace. Once there, Mattias' body flares up and he settles down in the fireplace. Kristian walks over to Mattias and he throws a few logs next to the firebird. Mattias then rearranges the logs to make a suitable resting spot, and then he dissolves his form into the fire as the logs begin to burn.

Now, Kristian looks around the single room house. A thin layer of dust covers everything, since Kristian was gone for over three months. Against one wall sits a stone slab with a mattress on it, this happens to be Kristian's bed. Every once in a while, the mattress will have to be replace because of an accidental fire; but the stone will always be unharmed. Nearly all the furniture in this house had top surfaces made of stone, and what wood was in here was often thick. All of this was done to limit the potential damage from any fire.

Kristian now walks over to the foot of the bed to a chest with a stone top. Kristian opens this chest and looks at the items in it. The first things that Kristian pulls out of the chest are a series of books. Two of the books are journals that Kristian has been using as his diaries. Another set of four books are his mother's diaries. Kristian's mother was more meticulous at writing than Kristian was. After his mother's passing, Kristian would often read his mother's journal to help remember his mother and of the happier times that they had.

The next thing that Kristian pulls out of the chest is a neatly folded dress. This dress is exquisite. It was made by the best tailors with painstaking care. Kristian's mother took very good care of this dress, and she would wear it once in a while on very special occasions. Kristian had always enjoyed seeing his mother in this dress. She was always happy when she wore this dress and it also meant Kristian would receive extra special attention from his mother.

The next item that Kristian pulls out is a simple hand mirror wrapped in a white cloth. This was his mother's mirror, the mirror that she would use to make herself look beautiful. It was a reminder of how beautiful his mother was, even when things did not seem all that beautiful on the mountain.

Finally, Kristian reaches under the chest itself. From under the chest, Kristian pulls out about a foot long rod. About two inches of the rod at one end was bent at a 90 degree angle. Kristian takes this rod and carries it over to one of the stones in the floor. Kristian kneels down next to this stone and blows dust away from one of the corners.

Now with the rod in hand, Kristian inserts the rod into this corner, and by pulling on the rod the stone is lifted out of its place in the floor. Where the stone was once sitting was a hallow space. In this space, Kristian can see something wrapped in a soiled cloth. Kristian lifts this item out of its hole, and carefully he unwraps the cloth. What was in the cloth was a decorative box. This box was used as his mother's jewelry case. The box was hidden in the floor to prevent anyone from stealing the items in it, this even included Goran.

During the time before Kristian and his mother came to the mountain, Kristian's mother would sell some of the items in the box to pay for their living. Now there are only a few items left in the box. One item was a beautiful blue sapphire ring. Another item was a small simple emerald brooch, and the last item was a necklace. This necklace had five precious stones on it. The center stone was the largest and it was a clear diamond. On each side of it was two smaller blue diamonds. Then the final two stones, on each end of the line, are red rubies.

After looking at the box's contents, Kristian closes the lid and places it on the bed with the other items. Kristian now steps back and looks at these items. "OK then. These are the items that I really want to take back with me," says Kristian. "I'm certainly glad that I have the use of a horse. It will make it an easy chore to carry all of this stuff. In fact, I could probably take a few more things as well."

Kristian now heads outside, and he locates a hand cart. Kristian hauls the hand cart over to the front door of the house. Then Kristian goes into the house and disassembles the chest at the foot of the bed. The chest has a stone top, and Kristian takes the stone top off the chest. Then Kristian carries the two pieces out to the cart in two trips. Once he has the two pieces out on the cart, Kristian reassembles the chest.

By the time Kristian has reassembled the chest, the sun has set. So Kristian enters the house and looks up to an iron ball hanging from a chain, from the rafters. Kristian raises a hand and releases a small stream of fire at the ball. The fire soon wraps the iron ball with its flame and the entire interior of the house lights up.

Now with the house lit, Kristian prepares to settle in for the night. First Kristian prepares a meal to eat. Then after eating, Kristian proceeds to move everything on the bed to the table in the room. Once this is done, Kristian opens his own journal and begins to write a brief summary of the past three months that he has had. Finally as the fire on the iron ball begins to fade, Kristian closes his journal and heads to the bed to fall asleep. As the last bit of flame fades away, Kristian falls into a restful sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Kristian slept well for a few hours. That is until an explosion shook the mountain. "Huh, what was that?" questions Kristian as he sits up in bed, as he was awoken by the noise and vibrations of the explosion.

Kristian places his feet on the floor, and he places his head in his hands. Kristian is not fully awake yet, and he needs a moment to get his blood moving. Finally Kristian lifts his head and stands up. "I better see if I can tell what that noise was," says Kristian as he walks to the door.

Kristian walks outside a few yards, and he begins to look around the plateau from this vantage point. Nothing catches Kristian's eye, and he was about to head back inside. That is until something that was not suppose be happening was. Some smoke was coming out of the chimney of the house that was Goran's.

"There shouldn't be any fire in Goran's house?" says a puzzled Kristian.

So instead of heading back into his own house, Kristian walks over to the house that was once used by Goran. As Kristian approaches, he can see no light coming from inside; but smoke still comes out of the chimney. Once Kristian reaches the door, he enters the house. Once inside, Kristian flares up one of his hands to provide light to see by.

Kristian would have preferred to have stayed away from this building. There really was nothing in here that Kristian wanted, and the thought of Goran always gave Kristian emotional turmoil. Still, there stood Kristian, as he was just inside the main door.

After looking around briefly, Kristian looks up to the iron ball hanging from the rafters. Then Kristian shoots his flame at the iron ball to cause it to light up with fire. This flaming ball now is able to provide light in the building, and Kristian allows the flame on his hand to go out.

Now Kristian walks over to the fireplace. This fireplace is unusual in the fact that a man can easily stand up in the hearth. Kristian always wondered why Goran had such a fireplace. Kristian always thought that Goran did something special in this fireplace, but he didn't know what that could be. Anyway, Kristian could see that there was no fire in this fireplace, but he was able to see smoke. After a closer examination Kristian noticed that the smoke was coming from around the stones at the back of the fireplace.

"That's weird," questions Kristian as he examines this strange occurrence.

The back side of Goran's house buts up against a short rock outcropping, and the fireplace was at the back of the house. "This should be solid rock, but it looks as if there is some kind of void behind this wall," ponders Kristian.

Kristian examines the back of the fireplace more closely now. Kristian even runs his hands over the stone in the back. However, Kristian cannot locate anything that would indicate a way to open this stone. Suddenly a muffled voice is heard coming from behind the stone.

"Goran, why have you not answered my call?" says the voice.

"What? Excuse me?" asks Kristian as he steps back from the stone. "I'm not Goran, and I am afraid that Goran is no longer with us."

"How can that be?" replies the voice. "I still sense his presence. Come here and tell me who you are, and tell me what you know of Goran."

"I can't come to you," says Kristian. "A large stone blocks the way and I don't know how to move it."

"It takes a small amount of magic to move the stone," replies the voice. "I shall move the stone for you."

As Kristian watches the stone at the back of the fireplace, a red glow begins to show up around the edge of the stone. Then the stone itself dissolves into a pile of ash at the bottom of the hearth. Behind this stone, a tunnel slopes down into the mountain, and a light can be seen coming from the tunnel.

"Come to me," says the voice again.

What Kristian has just been witnessing is a little startling to him. However, he is not all that scared by it. After having lived with Goran, and then facing him in Arendelle; Kristian doesn't think that there is much that he has to be afraid of. So Kristian walks forward and steps over the ash to enter the tunnel. Now, Kristian slowly walks down into the mountain through this sloping tunnel.

Soon Kristian enters a large room with a fire burning in the center of the room. This fire sits on top of a slightly raise stone circle on the floor. What is really unusual about this fire is that it seems to be burning on nothing but air. There was no wood or anything else that was combustible underneath the flames.

Kristian slowly walks towards this fire as he checks out the rest of the room. Kristian is trying to find someone in this room, but there isn't any place for a person to hide here. Soon Kristian hears a voice coming from the fire itself.

"You seem familiar to me," says the fire. "How can that be? You and I have never met."

Kristian stops and stares at the fire in surprise. Then Kristian replies, "How should I know? I didn't even know this room was down here. I've lived with Goran for several years, and he never told me about this place. He didn't even tell me that he had a talking fire."

Then a dark laugh is heard coming from the fire. Then the fire says, "So you are Kristian. Goran has told me about you, and it doesn't surprise me that he did not tell you about me. Why would he want to reveal his greatest secret to someone that could possibly take his place?"

"I don't understand? Take his place? What do you mean by that?" asks a puzzled Kristian.

"Has Goran ever told you anything about how he got his magic power, or where he learned how to use them," replies the fire.

"Not much, but he did say that he willing accepted the curse that gave him his powers," says Kristian.

"I am Tollak, and the power that Goran possesses has been given to him by me," replies the fire, Tollak. "In order to receive his magic, Goran had to become a servant of mine. Goran most likely fears that you would become my servant and that he would have to subjugate himself to you. That is probably why Goran did not tell you about me. So tell me, where is Goran and why has he not responded to me?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but Goran is no longer with us," says Kristian a little wary of what the response might be. "Goran went on a mission for the Duke of Weselton, to take out a magical being. He failed at that task and Goran was frozen solid."

"That cannot be!" exclaims Tollak with some anger. "Goran's fire would have prevented that! Still, I can sense his magic. In fact, I can sense that it is very close."

Kristian is beginning to feel uneasy about this conversation; and he begins to step backwards away from the fire, Tollak.

"Of course, I understand now!" exclaims Tollak. "You were with Goran when he was defeated, weren't you."

"Um, yes, I was there when Goran was frozen solid," replies and uneasy Kristian.

"Then somehow, Goran's curse was passed onto you," says Tollak. "That is why you seem familiar. I sense his curse within you."

"So, what now? Do you want his power back?" asks a wary Kristian.

"No, you shall take his place," replies Tollak. "You will continue with Goran's work of seeking out magical energy, and I shall be the master over you."

"Sorry Tollak, but I refuse to partake in your offer," replies Kristian with some hostility. "I choose who I will subjugate myself to, and I have no desire to take up the hostile actions of Goran."

"You think you have a choice in this matter!" exclaims Tollak as the fire surges upward till it touches the ceiling.

In response to the surging fire, Kristian takes a few steps backwards; and his hands flare up as well. In a moment, the fire recedes from the ceiling until it is the height of a man. Then the fire begins to swirl and solidify into the humanoid shape of a man. Now a pure flaming man stands before Kristian, and his eyes of fire stare straight at Kristian.

"Now you will see what your insolence to me is going to cost you," says Tollak as he lifts a hand into the air.

As Tollak lifts his hand, Kristian fells a pain in his chest; and he flinches from the pain. However, Kristian quickly recovers from the pain, and he raises his hands up. The flames on Kristian's hands then surge with power. This reaction of Kristian surprises Tollak.

"Did you think that I couldn't control the curse," says Kristian as he prepares to counter any move that Tollak might make.

"You managed to control the energy that I gave Goran!" exclaims Tollak with surprise. "But then I am not totally surprised. Your own natural abilities have given you an edge over normal mortals. However, that can easily be rectified."

Now Tollak raises a hand and he fires a short steam of flame at Kristian. Kristian responds by jumping off to the side and then rolling to a kneeling position. Then Kristian fires a quick fireball at Tollak. However, all that Tollak needed to do to block this fireball is to raise a hand and deflect the ball away. Now Tollak begins to laugh as Kristian quickly gets to his feet.

"My magic is greater than anything that you possess," says Tollak as he laughs.

So was Goran's magic, and I handled him just fine," replies Kristian as he launches a large fireball at Tollak.

Tollak raises a hand with a laugh, and he tries to take the full force of the fireball. However, the next reaction from Tollak is one of surprise. Instead of striking Tollak, the fireball simply moved around Tollak's extended arm. Then the fireball envelops Tollak in a flaming mass. As this happens, Kristian starts to make a run for the tunnel exit.

Tollak roars with anger and he shoots his fire out in all directions. This outburst quickly rips the fire that surrounds Tollak apart, and soon he sees Kristian making a run for the exit. So Tollak shoots a long ribbon of flame out, and this ribbon quickly develops into a wall of fire between Kristian and the tunnel. However, Kristian does not stop running; and he attempts to leap through this firewall. However, when Kristian hit the flames, it was like hitting a solid wall. Kristian crumples up against the firewall, and he falls backwards onto the floor in a daze.

Tollak now steps towards Kristian. Then with anger he says, "If you thought Goran was powerful, then you have not seen real power! I dwarf Goran's abilities by nearly a thousand fold! As you have just witnessed, I can create solid matter with just the fire I possess! I don't need to use any sort of material like Goran did to create items! My thoughts alone are all that I need!"

Now Tollak launches another short fire stream at Kristian. However, Kristian has managed to recover enough from his hard impact against the firewall to jump out of the way. As Kristian roles, he launches a barrage of small flaming orbs at Tollak. In response Tollak raises his hands up and easily takes the impacts of the exploding orbs. However, this distraction has allowed Kristian to regain his feet, and he then quickly creates a swirling fire around Tollak.

"You think this little wind is going to stop me!" exclaims Tollak.

Tollak then tries to step through the swirling fire, but the fire just spins him around and he falls to the floor. Tollak now roars as he attempts to rip the swirling fire with his own flame. Initially Tollak's fire does little damage and his fire just gets spun around.

Meanwhile, Kristian focuses his attention on the firewall. Kristian creates a three foot fire ring, and he pushes it flat against the firewall. Then by swiping his hands sideways, Kristian weakens the area of the firewall that the fire ring is against. This allows the fire ring to sink into Tollak's firewall. Once this has happened, Kristian begins to run towards the firewall; and he then leaps through his fire ring. Finally, Kristian has managed to get through Tollak's firewall.

However, as this was happening, Tollak has managed to rip the swirling fire of Kristian's into small flames. These flames end up flickering on the floor of the room. Tollak manages to do this just in time to see Kristian jump through his firewall.

"That's not possible!" exclaims Tollak as he witnesses Kristian's departure.

Then Tollak runs after Kristian. As he runs, Tollak vaporizes his firewall and smashes through Kristian's fire ring. "You will be mine!" shouts Tollak.

By now, Kristian is in the tunnel that heads towards the surface. When Kristian hears Tollak's exclamation, he stretches his hands out to the side, and he directs his energy into the walls of the tunnel. Soon Tollak is in the tunnel as well, and he fires another flame stream at Kristian. At this time, Kristian has made it to the top of the tunnel; and he turns around. Now with Tollak in the tunnel, Kristian sweeps his hands together. This action causes the walls of the tunnel to rumble, and soon the walls explode. This explosion totally collapses the tunnel, burying Tollak. However, Tollak's fire stream has managed to find its mark. Kristian gets hit in the shoulder and he falls backwards from the impact.

The impact of Tollak's fire stream surprises Kristian. However, the impact didn't have that much effect on him; or so Kristian thinks. Anyway, Kristian scrambles around to look back at the tunnel. When he finally gets his bearings, Kristian sees that the tunnel is totally collapsed; and he also sees that the red glow from the stones is fading away.

"I hope that takes care of Tollak," says Kristian as he gets up off the floor. "But to make sure, I better seal this tunnel for good."

Now Kristian walks forward and places his hands onto the rubble of the tunnel. Then Kristian begins to push his energy into the rocks. The rocks begin to glow and shortly the rocks begin to mold themselves together. In no time the rocks become one homogeneous mass. Once this has happened, Kristian stops his work; and the stones cool to become one solid rock. Now, Kristian steps back from his work. He examines the results, and Kristian is very satisfied with the outcome.

With the tunnel now sealed, Kristian turns his attention to the shoulder that Tollak had hit with a fire stream. On the front of Kristian's shoulder, there is black soot. Kristian then reaches up and brushes the soot off of himself.

"With the way Tollak was talking, I would have expected something more severe than this little hit," says Kristian. "I guess I was just lucky, because he did have some insane power there."

With things finally settling down, Kristian heads off to his own house. Once Kristian reaches his own bed, he quickly lays down. For a short while, Kristian just lays there mulling over his recent encounter with Tollak. Eventually, Kristian drifts off to sleep.

As Kristian sleeps, he begins to dream. Initially, Kristian's dream is about his mother, and the happy moments he had with her as a child. In time the dream changes, and Goran becomes part of the dream.

"Kristian, you need to destroy the ice witch," says Goran harshly.

"No!" cries the young Kristian in the dream. "You are not my family!" Then the young Kristian runs to his mother in the dream. However, as Kristian runs he becomes older; and his mother's image is changed to the fiery image of Tollak. Kristian stops running in the dream and he starts to back away from Tollak. However, Kristian soon bumps into Goran.

As Kristian turns around, he sees Goran. Then Goran says, "Your family is dead, and you have no friends. We are the only family that you will ever have. You need to destroy the ice witch for the good of your family. The family that is linked to you by fire."

"You have never been my family or my friend, Goran!" shouts Kristian as his hands flame up in the dream. "I have found true friends that have replaced you in my life! I don't need you anymore!" With that said, Kristian shoots his fire at the image of Goran; and Goran evaporates into the air.

Now Kristian breaths heavily, in the dream, as laughter starts to echo all around him. "You need to find the ice witch that froze Goran," says the voice of Tollak. "You need to go to her and destroy her."

"NO!" says Kristian to the bodiless voice. "I'm going back to my new home!"

"You will destroy her," continues the voice of Tollak.

"No, I won't!" shouts Kristian again as he turns to find the source of the voice in his dream.

In one of his turns, Kristian comes face to face with the fiery image of Tollak. Then Tollak thrusts his hand forward, and this hand penetrates the shoulder of Kristian. This is the same shoulder that Tollak's fire stream hit. "You will go to her," says a stern Tollak.

"No," says Kristian with some pain, as he grabs the arm of Tollak in his dream.

"You will go to her!" says Tollak with an even stronger voice.

"I'm only going to Arendelle!" cries out Kristian as he tries to pull the hand of Tollak out of his chest.

"You will go to the ice witch!" says Tollak in almost a shout.

"I'm… I'm going to Arendelle! I'm only going to Arendelle!" cries out Kristian.

Then a bird's screech penetrates the dream. Then another bird's screech is heard. Soon Kristian wakes up from his sleep. As he wakes up, Kristian is clutching his chest; and his mattress is on fire. Kristian then quickly gets up, and he waves his hands around to put out the fire. Once the fire is out, Kristian sits down in a chair and looks at the burnt mattress.

"Man that was one heck of a dream," says Kristian to himself.

Then Kristian hears a questioning squawk coming from Mattias. So, Kristian turns to look at Mattias; who is standing on the dinner table behind Kristian.

"Oh, hi Mattias," says Kristian to the firebird. "I just had a bad dream about Goran and a fiery man named Tollak. They both wanted me to destroy Elsa. Of course I didn't want to go along with it; but man, that dream was intense and it felt almost real. I'm just glad that you were able to wake me from that dream."

Now Kristian gets up, and he looks at the items sitting on the table with Mattias. "Well, since I am up, I guess that I should start loading the cart for our return trip to Arendelle," says Kristian.

Then Mattias lets out an affirmative squawk, and Kristian begins to carry the items out to the chest on the cart. Kristian takes care to pack these items, because these items are precious to him. With all of the items, Kristian makes sure to wrap them in some other kind of cloth. Once everything was safely packed, Kristian places a heavy tarp over the chest and ties the chest down to the cart.

With the table now cleared, Kristian prepares his breakfast and spends a little quiet time with Mattias. Once the morning rituals have been completed, Kristian places things away for long term storage; and then he heads outside.

Once outside, Kristian spends his time hooking the horse up to the cart. Then once he is done, Kristian takes one last look around the plateau. "I'm certainly not going to miss this place," says Kristian. Then Kristian's eyes fall onto his old home. "Well maybe I will miss seeing the memories of my mother." Then Kristian climbs onto the cart and heads on down the mountain.

On his way down, Kristian stops by his parents graves. Once the horse had stopped, Kristian climbs down from the cart; and he proceeds to walk over to the headstones. When Kristian gets to the stones, he kneels down in front of his mother's headstone; and he begins to speak.

"Hello again mother," says Kristian as he addresses the stone. "This may be the last time that I will be able to be here with you. I hate to leave you like this, but I also know that you are past caring about what happens to yourself. I just hope that the powers that be will take good care of you. For me this is a sad ending to a chapter in my life, but today is also the beginning of a new one. A new life awaits me; and I hope it is full of all the love and warmth that can exist. The type of love, you had given to me as I was growing up."

Now, Kristian turns to the headstone of his father. "Dad, I really don't know what to say to you," says Kristian. "I never really got to know you. I barely have any memories of the time before mom and I had to leave you and my sister. So all I have to go on are mother's stories and what you tried to do when Goran did away with you. For what you tried to do, I am grateful. I'm just sorry that it did not turn out the way that you wanted."

After Kristian finishes speaking, he gets up off the ground and he finds two perfectly round stones nearby. By pushing his magic into these stones, they begin to flame like two oil fired torches. With the stones flaming like this, Kristian places one stone on the top of each of his parent's headstones.

"These stones should burn for a couple of days before they go out," says Kristian as he backs away from the headstones. "It is the last gesture that I can give to the both of you before I leave."

Now Kristian turns away, and then he goes to the cart. When Kristian finally finds his seat on the cart he turns to look back at the headstones for one last time. With a sigh, the last thing that Kristian says is, "Good Bye."

With nothing more to say, Kristian begins to have the horse move on down the mountain. As the cart moves, Kristian doesn't say a word for some time; and Mattias follows Kristian through the air. Finally, when the cart reaches the bottom of the mountain, Kristian reaches into his shirt and pulls out the insignia of Arendelle that Elsa had given him. Kristian looks at it for a moment; and with a sad smile, Kristian says, "Well Elsa, I'm on my way home."

Then Kristian places the insignia back under his shirt, and he continues on his way back to Arendelle.


	8. Chapter 8

It has been several weeks since Kristian had left for his old home in the Wilderness. For most of that time, Elsa had been able to keep herself preoccupied with her duties as queen. However, her days seem to be less than inviting since Kristian had left. Of course her sister Anna and Olaf had done their best to cheer Elsa up, when she was feeling down. For the most part, the pair had been very successful in their attempts.

However, the anniversary of Elsa's coronation was nearing and some of the palace's business began to turn its attention to the celebration. Once Elsa's thoughts were on the party, eventually her mind would go to thoughts of Kristian. These thoughts would often make Elsa smile, but they would also sadden her. During these times, Elsa would often look out into the harbor and watch the ships there. Other times, Elsa would look out onto the fiord in the direction of the open sea. Elsa knew this was pointless, but she couldn't help herself. Every time that she did this, Elsa was just wishing to catch a glimpse of Kristian's ship.

During one of these times that Elsa was staring out at the fiord waters, Anna comes into the room carrying a small stack of papers. As she places the papers on the desk in the room, Anna says, "Hi Elsa, so are the fiord waters still out there?"

"Oh! Anna, I didn't hear you come in," replies Elsa. She was just a little startled by Anna's unexpected entrance. Then replying with an embarrassing tone, Elsa continues. "Yes, the water does appear to be staying put, but I think you knew that already."

"Of course, but I don't blame you for wanting the waters to flow inland," says Anna as she walks up next to Elsa. Once there, Anna then looks out the window at the fiord. "If that would happen, maybe the flowing water would bring Kristian back sooner."

"Have I been that obvious," replies Elsa as she too looks out the window.

"No, you haven't been that obvious; but then not everyone knows you as well as I do," says Anna. "I've just noticed you being in a little more of a sullen mood lately."

"I hope that my current state of mind hasn't ruined your own excitement over the celebration," apologies Elsa.

"It would be hard to ruin my excitement over your one year anniversary, Elsa," replies Anna. "It is a big day for me as well. It was the day that I learned what my big sister truly was all about. Not to mention the fact, that it was also the day that I first met Kristoff."

"So how is Kristoff?" asks Elsa. "I don't recall seeing him around lately."

"Oh, he is fine," replies Anna. "However, he doesn't seem to be able to come around the palace as much as he used to. For some reason, Kristoff has been very busy lately."

"I wonder why that is?" ponders Elsa. "There should be no need for him to be working that hard, especially since he handles all of the palace's requirements."

"I've asked him about that too," says Anna. "But he says that is just the way the ice business goes sometimes. Besides, Kristoff isn't the only one that has been getting over involved in his work lately. I can think of someone in this room who has been doing the same."

"What are you talking about?" asks a puzzled Elsa. "I have not been that involved in my work."

"Oh really," smirks Anna. "So what do you call this stack of paper that I just brought in for you to read through?"

"Anna, those papers are nothing," replies Elsa. "I go through petitions from the people all the time. They are part of my regular routine."

"Yes, I know," says Anna. "But normally you do these after a big celebration, not before."

"What difference does it make if I go through them now or later," replies Elsa.

"I guess it doesn't," says Anna with a devilish smile on her face. "But then I guess you wouldn't mind if I do this!" With that said Anna takes a hold of the stack of papers and throws it up into the air.

"Anna!" exclaims Elsa as she steps forward and catches a few of the sheets while they are still in the air. "Why did you do that?"

"You needed to change your routine," replies Anna with a smile. "You have been getting so caught up in your work that you are forgetting to have some fun."

"And you think making a mess on my office floor is going to give me an opportunity to have fun!" objects Elsa. "All you did was made more work for me!"

"But at least you have to change your routine around," giggles Anna. "Now you have to pick up your papers before you can continue."

"Sometimes you can be exasperating, Anna," says Elsa as she kneels down onto the floor to start picking up the papers.

I consider that to be part of my duties, for being your little sister," replies Anna as she too gets down on the floor to pick up papers as well. Then with a devilish smile on her face, Anna says, "So do you still love your little sister?"

Elsa looks up at Anna with some surprise when she hears Anna's question. When she does, Elsa can see the grin on Anna's face; and she begins to smile as well. "Of course I still love my little sister," replies Elsa. "But it doesn't mean that I have to forgive her."

While saying this, Elsa had formed a snowball; and when she finished speaking, Elsa threw it at Anna. With a big grin on her face, Anna tries to dodge this snowball. However, the snowball still manages to hit Anna in the shoulder.

"So have I been properly punished now for disturbing your work?" says Anna in the midst of laughing.

"Not by a long shot," giggles Elsa. "However, my retribution will have to wait until after we pick up these papers."

"Fair enough," says a smiling Anna as she goes back to picking up papers. "So what do you plan on doing with me then? Snowballs at ten paces, or will you punish me by an ice skating lesson?"

"Who says that I can't do both, or maybe I will come up with a whole new punishment for you," says Elsa with a smile as she picks up some of the papers. Meanwhile, Anna giggles after hearing Elsa's comment.

For the next few minutes, Elsa and Anna move around the floor picking up the papers. At one point, Elsa gets up off the floor and heads over to Anna. Once there, Anna hands up a small stack of papers to Elsa. Then Anna moves under the desk to get a few sheets that had floated under there. As Anna was under the desk, Elsa had moved over and she was arranging the papers on the corner of the desk. As Elsa was doing this, Kristoff came walking into the room.

"What happened here?" asks Kristoff as he looks at the remaining papers on the floor.

"Oh, just a friendly mishap," replies Elsa with a smile as she looks over to Kristoff. "We're just taking care of it."

"Then is this a bad time to talk to you?" asks Kristoff.

"No go ahead, Kristoff," replies Elsa. "I wouldn't mind a little break from this clean up anyway."

"Well, I just wanted to talk to you about Anna," says Kristoff with an uneasy tone in his voice.

"What?" says Elsa with some surprise. "But Anna…," begins to say Elsa; but before she can finish, Elsa feels a tug on her dress.

When Elsa looks down, she can see Anna kneeling under the desk; and she was pulling on Elsa's dress. Elsa could also see a big grin on Anna's face. Then Elsa realizes that Kristoff could not see Anna, and that he did not know that she was in the room.

"Um yes, so what about Anna, do you want to discuss?" asks Elsa as she tries to reorient her thoughts on this slight deception.

Well um, I'm not really sure how to say this," says Kristoff as he fidgets in front of Elsa. "It is kind of hard to say this in front of you."

"Go ahead Kristoff. I won't hold anything you say against you," says Elsa with a slight lint to her voice.

Meanwhile, Anna was under the desk. While there, she was trying to suppress a giggle from being heard. To help Anna to stop giggling, Elsa kicks Anna with the heel of her foot.

"Well the thing is…, well…, um…," says Kristoff as he struggles to say what he wants. "I want to ask your permission to marry Anna."

Both Elsa and Anna fall into stunned silence as Kristoff speaks these words. Under the desk, Anna sits up right and she bumps her head on the underside of the desk. When this happens, Elsa places both of her hands on the top of the desk to steady it. Also Kristoff hears the thud of Anna's head on the desk. So Kristoff looks at Elsa with a slightly puzzled look on his face.

Elsa sees Kristoff's gaze. So Elsa says, "Um…, what was that Kristoff? You're asking for Anna's hand in marriage?"

"Um…, ya. I'm sorry that I shocked you with this, but I thought that it would be best to ask you," replies Kristoff.

"Why are you asking me?" asks a puzzled and still surprised Elsa. "Why haven't you asked Anna first instead of me?"

"How did you know that I haven't asked Anna yet?" asks a surprised Kristoff.

"Oh, um, it is because Anna would have told me something like this the moment you would have proposed," replies Elsa as she becomes uneasy about how she knows. Elsa knows this by the kind of reaction that Anna is having under the desk.

"Well I.., um…, wanted to talk to you first to get your approval," says an uneasy Kristoff. "The last time someone proposed to Anna, it did not end well. I didn't want to get Anna's hopes up if you were opposed to the marriage."

"Opposed!? Why would you be concerned if I would be opposed to the marriage?" asks a confused Elsa. "I would have thought that only Anna's feelings would matter to you."

"Elsa, you mean the world to Anna," replies Kristoff. "If you thought that I wasn't suitable for her, Anna would be heart broken. I could not do that to her. I know I am just a commoner, and I know that I fall short in many of the good graces that some people would expect from royalty. Yet, I was hoping to get your blessing for the proposal."

A slight smile comes to Elsa's face, as a mischievous idea comes to her mind. Elsa has decided to have a little fun with this situation. In her mind, Elsa thinks it will be a good way to get back at Anna.

"Yes Kristoff, you have brought up some valid points," says Elsa trying to suppress a smile. "Anna is my sister, and I do want what is best for her. Ideally someone with a royal pedigree would be preferred. However, the likelihood of that occurring is very remote. Anna can be such a child at times. I mean, what prince would ever want to be with such a silly thing."

Anna, who has been listening quietly under the desk, becomes a little annoyed at the comments that Elsa is making. So Anna begins to yank hard on the back of Elsa's desk. This causes Elsa to react awkwardly in front of Kristoff. Kristoff, who witnesses Elsa's odd movements, is perplexed by what he is seeing.

"Elsa, are you all right?" asks Kristoff.

"Oh yes, I am fine," replies Elsa as she straightens herself up. "I just had a, um..., muscle spasm in my leg that is all. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Anna. Well since she is a bit flighty, I will have to lower my standards for a potential suitor. So I guess I should give you at least a consideration. I will need to see how you match up with all the other potential partners."

"Wait, what?" exclaims Kristoff. "Other potential partners? What other potential partners?"

"Did you think you were the only guy that was interested in Anna," amuses Elsa. "However, I will admit that you are the first one to propose marriage. That little fact will work in your favor. Still other things must be considered."

"What sort of things are we talking about?" asks Kristoff as he is perplexed by how this conversation is going.

"Well for starters, there is your dress," replies Elsa with a mischievous smile. "A commoner look is hardly what I would call fit for a princess. Then of course there is your aroma, too much reindeer and not enough soap."

"But Elsa, I'm an ice peddler," objects Kristoff. "I can't exactly do my business in fine clothes, and Sven is a big part of my business. When you spend most of your time with a reindeer, you can't easily get rid of that smell."

"Since you brought up your occupation, that is something else that must be considered," says Elsa as her smile grows even bigger. "How are you going to provide for Anna? As I understand, your ice business does well enough; but where will the two of you live. Will the two of you live in that old ice warehouse of yours by the harbor, or will you live out in the unprotected woods of the countryside?"

Anna has been keeping quiet. Anna has been listening, and she is partly amused and partly annoyed at what Elsa was saying. Now Anna has had enough of Elsa's antics. So Anna reaches out and pinches Elsa hard on the back of the leg.

"OW!" says Elsa as her leg buckles from the pinch. Elsa also has to brace herself against the desk to keep from falling over. Elsa looks over to Kristoff, and she can see the stunned and puzzled look on his face. "It's that muscle spasm again. I'll be all right," says Elsa.

"Elsa, I'll admit that I cannot offer Anna much, but I have been able to set some aside so that I could afford to offer Anna this," says Kristoff as he pulls a small pouch out of his pocket. Kristoff then steps forward and hands the pouch over to Elsa.

"What's this?" asks Elsa as she takes the pouch from Kristoff.

"It's a ring," replies Kristoff. "I've been working extra hours, so that I could afford to buy it."

"Kristoff, its beautiful!" exclaims Elsa. "No wonder you haven't been around the palace lately. It looks as if it took several months of work to pay for it."

"You are not far off," replies Kristoff. "Fortunately, I was able to make a deal to obtain the ring with only a partial payment."

Finally Anna could not sit still any longer. "Elsa let me see the ring!" says Anna as she climbs from underneath the desk.

Elsa laughs as she turns to hand the ring to Anna, as Kristoff is shocked to see Anna in the room. "Anna! I…. What were you doing under the desk behind Elsa?" exclaims Kristoff as he does not know what to say or do.

Anna has been examining the ring before she replies, "Kristoff, the ring is wonderful!" Then Anna hurries over to Kristoff and wraps her arms around his neck. Then Anna gives Kristoff a big kiss. "Sorry about hiding from you, but I was just picking up the papers that I threw around the room," adds Anna.

"I'm sorry too, Kristoff," laughs Elsa as she sees the disbelief on Kristoff's face. "I hope you aren't too upset that I used our little talk to get back at Anna for making this mess."

"I… um… what?" says a confused Kristoff. "Anna? Elsa?"

Then Anna and Elsa begin to laugh together. "That was almost cruel, Elsa," says Anna. "I hope you have a way of making up for it."

"Yes, of course," giggles Elsa. "Would my blessing for your engagement be enough?"

"That would be more than enough," says a delighted Anna as she wraps her arm around Kristoff's arm. "But can you add one more thing, like a place in the palace to live?"

Elsa begins to laugh. "Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way," replies Elsa.

Meanwhile, Kristoff is standing there in stunned silence. Then Anna turns towards Kristoff and holds the ring up to him. "So do you want to make it official then," says Anna.

"Make what official?" asks a confused Kristoff.

"Your proposal," giggles Anna. "It won't be official until you put the ring on my finger."

As Kristoff takes the ring and slips it onto Anna's finger, he says, "I proposed?"

"Of course you did!" giggles Anna. "And I think it was one the most wonderful proposals I have ever heard."

"Elsa, did I actually propose to Anna?" asks Kristoff as he addresses Elsa.

"Well you did ask for Anna's hand in marriage while Anna was in the room. So technically you actually did propose," smiles Elsa.

"It doesn't feel like I did the proposing," replies Kristoff. "But I will accept the outcome."

"Good, but now we have to make some major plans," says Anna excitedly.

"Plans? What sort of plans?" asks Kristoff.

"Why our wedding plans, and of course the royal introduction," replies Anna.

"Royal introduction?" asks a confused Kristoff.

"Kristoff, you do realize that you are marring into a royal family," replies Elsa. "When that happens an introduction must be made to the people of that kingdom. Of course, we don't need to hold a separate celebration for the introduction. We can use the anniversary of my coronation to make the announcement."

"That would be perfect, Elsa!" exclaims Anna. "Then we won't need to make separate plans."

"It will mean that we will have to make adjustments to the party," interjects Elsa.

"Yes, and we have less than two weeks to get the changes done," adds Anna. "I hope we will have enough time."

"We will make the time, Anna," replies Elsa. "It is not every day that my sister becomes engaged."

"Wait a second, what sort of adjustments are we talking about?" asks Kristoff.

"I do love you, but you can be so clueless at times," smiles Anna. "There is the introduction as us as a royal couple, most likely given by Elsa."

"I certainly would hope so," replies Elsa with a smile. "And don't forget about the engagement dance. We must notify the musicians and pick out the appropriate music."

"Yes, and the appropriate clothing must be selected as well," adds Anna. "We both need to look splendid for this announcement. No ordinary clothing will do. We will have to have the tailors make something special."

"Two weeks is pushing it for anything fancy, Anna," replies Elsa. "Still, I believe the tailors can come up with something appropriate."

"I'm beginning to thing that I proposed to the wrong lady," says Kristoff as he has been listening to Anna and Elsa talk with each other.

"What?!" says Anna as she is surprised by Kristoff's comment.

Then Elsa begins to laugh. Then she says, "Don't worry Kristoff. Anna and I can take care of everything. All you have to do is show up."

"I should be able to coup with doing that," replies Kristoff. "I just hope the two of you don't go overboard in the planning."

"I wish that we could," giggles Anna. "But there is just not enough time for that."

Then Anna and Elsa begin to laugh. Meanwhile, Kristoff just smiles and shakes his head slightly in a negative fashion.

For the next several days, Anna and Elsa make preparations for the combined celebration. The new excitement, which Kristoff's proposal has brought to the village, has lifted Elsa's spirits. Elsa is still sad about the fact that Kristian may not be there, but the proposal has brought some happiness to her. Now Elsa's thoughts are no longer on Kristian's absence, but they are now on the happiness of her sister. Elsa was going to make sure that Anna was able to enjoy this moment.


	9. Chapter 9

Finally, it is the day before the big celebration, and Elsa is in the great hall. She is there to make sure that everything is ready for tomorrow. Decorations are being place and furniture is being arranged to accommodate guests. During this time, Anna comes walking into the room.

"Hello, Elsa," says Anna as she approaches her sister. "I see you haven't let up on the preparations."

Oh hello, Anna," replies Elsa. "Yes, I'm just making certain that we haven't forgotten anything."

"I'm certain that we haven't," adds Anna. "In fact, I think that we may have even added a few things as well."

Elsa smiles as she replies, "You may well be right about that. We certainly got a lot accomplished these last two weeks."

"I am aware of that," says Anna. "And that is starting to make me worry a bit."

"What's this?" asks Elsa. "Are you having second thoughts about marrying Kristoff?"

"No, it's not that," replies Anna. "It's just that… um…. Elsa, can we just talk somewhere else?"

"Of course, Anna," replies Elsa as she makes a small gesture for Anna to lead the way.

So Anna begins to walk and Elsa walks alongside of Anna. Once the sisters leave the great hall, Elsa asks," So what is troubling you, Anna."

"I'm hoping that it is nothing, but I am just starting to worry about you," replies Anna.

"You are worrying about me?" asks a puzzled Elsa. "Why would you be worrying about me?"

"Before Kristoff's proposal, you have been getting overly involved in your duties as queen," replies Anna. "I figured your preoccupation with work was because Kristian had left. That is why Olaf and I tried to have some fun together with you."

"I know what Olaf and you were trying to do, and I am grateful for your attempts," replies Elsa. "Both of you did help to improve my mood."

"I'm glad that we were successful," says Anna. "I even thought that Kristoff's proposal was just the thing to brighten you up. Yet, now I'm beginning to think that all you have done is replace your royal duties with the preparations of the celebration."

"In a way, I suppose that I have," replies Elsa with a slight smile. "But I have replaced my sadness over the absence of Kristian with the joy of your engagement. I would think that you would be pleased with my improved state of mind."

"It is a bit of a relief to hear you say that," replies Anna. "However, I think you have been putting too much time into the celebration concerning Kristoff and me. Don't forget, the main reason for this celebration is to celebrate your first full year as the Queen of Arendelle. Kristoff and I should only be a footnote in the day's festivities."

"Nonsense, I was going to make the celebration nearly all about you," says Elsa. "My one year reign is just a formality. However, your engagement is a unique event; and it should be treated as such."

"Simply announcing my engagement will make it a unique event, Elsa," replies Anna. "However, the person that matters the most to the people of Arendelle is you. I may be important to Arendelle, but you are Arendelle. You literally are what make this kingdom what it is. So celebrating your one year reign is like celebrating the Kingdom of Arendelle, and I think that is the more important thing to honor."

Elsa stops walking after hearing this from Anna. She needs time to put what Anna has said into perspective. Elsa has always known that she was important to the Kingdom of Arendelle, but she had never correlated the fact that she and Arendelle were considered to be the same entity. "Perhaps I have gone overboard on focusing the celebration on you and Kristoff," says Elsa. "I just wanted to make this event special for my only sister."

"Even if everything goes wrong, Elsa; the day will be wonderful," replies Anna. "Not only will I be engaged with a man I have great affection for, but I will now always have a day that will mean as much to me as it means to my big sister."

"Every day that I have to spend with you will always be important to me, Anna," says Elsa. "We already lost so much time in the past, and I hope that we don't waste too much more."

"Elsa, no matter what happens in the future, I will always love you," replies Anna with a smile. "So please stop trying to make up for lost time."

Elsa begins to laugh. Then she says, "I'll try, but that is not going to be easy." Then both sisters begin to burst into laughter.

While they were laughing, Olaf comes running up to Anna and Elsa. "Hi guys!" says Olaf. "I see you're both in a joyful mood."

"Oh, we were just having a little talk about tomorrow's celebration," replies Elsa with a smile.

"Yes, and the talk centered on how Elsa was going over the top on my engagement," adds Anna.

"So you came to an agreement that was agreeable to the both of you," states Olaf.

"Well maybe not an agreement, but at least an understanding. We can work on the details from there," replies Elsa.

Then Anna speaks. "Olaf, you came into the room in a bit of a hurry. Is there something that you wanted to tell us?"

"Oh, ya!" replies Olaf. "Someone important to us has returned to Arendelle!"

Elsa starts to become excited and a little snow begins to fall in the room. "Kristian has returned!" exclaims Elsa as she begins to run towards the main doors.

"Wait Elsa!" calls out Olaf. "It's not Kristian!"

Elsa stops near the door of the room, and she turns back to look at Olaf. "It's not Kristian," says Elsa as her mood sinks from making the wrong assumption. "Then who else would be important to us?"

"Well, I thought that the presence of Mattias would be important enough for you to know," replies Olaf.

Once again Elsa's mood improves. "Yes, Mattias is an important individual to welcome back," says a smiling Elsa. "So if Mattias is back, then maybe Kristian cannot be far behind. Let's see if Mattias is able to give us some more information."

So Elsa quickly begins to head out to the courtyard of the palace, and Anna and Olaf follow right behind her. As Elsa steps out into the courtyard, she hears a bird screech. When Elsa looks in the direction of the sound, her eyes fall onto Mattias sitting on top of the stone wall of the courtyard.

"Mattias!" exclaims Elsa happily as she stretches her arm out to the firebird.

In response, Mattias screeches; and he then spreads his wings. Then Mattias flies down to Elsa and lands on Elsa's outstretched arm.

"It is good to see you again, Mattias," says Elsa as she strokes the back of the firebird. "So is Kristian in Arendelle as well?"

In response, Mattias ruffles his feathers.

"If he is not in Arendelle, is Kristian at least coming?" then asks Elsa.

To this question, Mattias screeches in the affirmative.

"That was a good response," says Olaf as he walks up alongside of Elsa. "Kristian must be on his way here."

"Kristian must have sent Mattias ahead to let you know he was just about to Arendelle," adds Anna.

"I need to find how close he is," replies Elsa excitedly.

So Elsa lifts her arm up into the air, and Mattias then takes to the air. Once Mattias has left Elsa's arm, Elsa quickly runs to the light house of Arendelle. She is followed there by Olaf and Anna. Once Elsa reaches the top of the light house, she looks out in the direction of the open sea. For a moment she just stands there looking. Soon Anna and Olaf join her at the top of the lighthouse.

"Elsa, Kristian's ship could still be hours away. You could be up here a long time, before you are able to see the ship," says Anna.

"That is not the reason why I am up here, Anna," replies Elsa. "I'm up here because it is the best spot to watch for a response."

"A response to what?" asks a puzzled Anna.

Then Elsa begins to generate a sphere of magical energy. Then Elsa says, "A response to my signal."

With that said, Elsa releases the energy high into the air. This energy climbs for several seconds until it is almost as high as the North Mountain. Once this energy has reached this height, it disperses through the air creating ice crystals as it does. These crystals then float down through the air, sparkling in the sun as they fall.

For a few seconds, everyone on the lighthouse watches the horizon. Then off in the distance, an orange light is seen climbing into the sky. Once this light reaches its peak, it erupts into an exploding fireball with a low sounding boom.

"There's Kristian!" exclaims a happy Elsa.

"He will be here sometime today," adds Anna. "It will be at least an hour by my guess before his ship will be in view."

"I think this is going to be one of the longest hours of my life," replies Elsa. "Yet, it will mean that tomorrow will be a day I will never forget."

In little over an hour, Kristian's ship comes into view of Arendelle. A smile comes to Kristian's face as he sees the village. "It's good to finally be back here," says Kristian.

However, as Kristian says this, his hands begin to flare. Then a man made of total flame appears to be standing on the water. This man is just a vision of Tollak. Then Kristian hears Tollak speak. "Fulfill your duty to me and you will obtain power that is unimaginable. The barrier to this goal and all your other goals is the creature that wields the magic energy over the cold. Destroy the ice witch and you shall find the peace you are looking for."

"No," says Kristian as he lifts his flaming hands up in front of him. Then Kristian closes his eyes. "Stay calm. It is just a vision. Just keep it under control. Don't let Goran's curse control you. You can control it."

With a few more deep breaths, the flames on his hands subside; and then they disappear. Once the flames were out, Kristian opens his eyes; and the image of Tollak is no longer there. With his powers back under control, Kristian lets out a sigh of relief.

Now it takes several more minutes before Kristian ship is pulled up to the docks and secured. As men were busy tying the ship to the dock; Kristian can see Elsa, Anna, and Olaf waiting for him. All of them are waving to him, and Kristian waves back.

"Welcome back!" shouts Olaf from the dock.

"It's good to be back!" replies Kristian to Olaf.

Soon a plank is put into position and Kristian is able to disembark from the ship. Once Kristian is standing on the dock; Elsa, Anna, and Olaf come up to great him.

Olaf is the first one to greet Kristian as he comes trotting up to him. "Hey Kristian! Everyone has been missing you," says Olaf.

"Hi Olaf," says Kristian as he sits his pack onto the dock. "I think you might be exaggerating there. I don't think everyone in the village would be missing me."

"OK, so I haven't asked everyone in the village if they were missing you; but I do know that a lot of people were," replies Olaf. "I know the blacksmith would like to have you around again. Also the baker and the palace cooks wouldn't mind having you around either. I can think of several kids that would like to see both you and Mattias as well."

"I didn't realize that I was such a popular guy," says Kristian with a smirk.

"You shouldn't sell yourself short like that," says Elsa as she nears. "You are liked by many people here, including me."

"Hi Elsa," says Kristian as he looks at the Queen of Arendelle. "I have certainly missed seeing you these past few weeks."

"I was missing you before you even left Arendelle," replies Elsa with a smile.

"I hope my absence has depressed you too much," says Kristian with a smile.

"It was a challenge to keep Elsa happy, but Anna and I did our best to help the time pass by" chirps Olaf.

"I will admit that there were a few difficult days, but it was hard to be sad for very long," adds Elsa. "Anna was always there for support, and Olaf is always ready to have a little fun." Now Elsa steps forward and places her hands on Kristian's shoulder. Then she says with a smile, "But right now I don't need them to cheer me up any more."

Kristian smiles, as he places his hands onto Elsa's lower back; and then he leans in and kisses Elsa. In return, Elsa responds favorable to Kristian's affections. For a few seconds, things seem to be going well. Then suddenly, Kristian pushes Elsa away from him.

Elsa is surprised by this. "Kristian?" then asks a puzzled Elsa.

However, as she finishes speaking, a flash of fire comes from Kristian's torso. "No!" exclaims Kristian as he strains to regain control of his magic.

This sudden flash of fire strikes Elsa hard and it causes her to take a few steps backwards. Elsa also cries out in pain as the fire hits her. However, Elsa own magic responded to the flames, and her magic kept the flames from doing any serious harm. Meanwhile, Kristian steps backwards, and he ends up falling to one knee as the fire recedes and fades away.

"Elsa!" exclaims Anna as she comes running forward to aid her sister. As she places her hands onto Elsa, Anna asks, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Anna," replies Elsa. "But what about Kristian?"

Everyone looks at Kristian as he is kneeling on the dock. His fire had just faded away, and Kristian looks exhausted from his ordeal.

"Hey Kristian, are you OK?" asks Olaf as he comes right up next to him.

"I hope so Olaf," replies Kristian as he regains his composure. "I've just been having a little trouble with my fire lately."

As Kristian gets back to his feet, Elsa comes walking forward. "Kristian, if I had known, I would have acted differently," apologies Elsa.

"Elsa it is not your fault," replies Kristian. "I thought that I could manage it, but I guess that I couldn't. My journey back home took a bigger toll on me than I thought it would."

"I should have realized," says Elsa. "You need to rest after your long journey. Once you have been properly refreshed, then we can become reacquainted."

"For safety concern, Elsa; I would suggest that we avoid any physical contact for the next few days," adds Kristian as he goes to pick up his pack.

"I understand," replies a slightly dejected Elsa. "I hope that means that we can still be able to talk to one another."

"I don't see why we can't," says Kristian as he begins to walk back to the palace. "We just need to maintain a safe distance."

Elsa also begins to walk back to the palace. She walks along side of Kristian with Olaf walking in-between the two of them. "At least that is something," replies Elsa as she smiles a little. "So was your trip home successful? Did you manage to retrieve everything that you wanted to get?"

"Yes, I got my treasures and then some," replies Kristian. "Thanks to the King of Weselton, I was able to bring back a few more things as well inside a chest. I'm having the chest delivered to the palace."

Elsa stops walk, and out of surprise she says, "Wait, the King of Weselton actually helped you?"

"I can't believe that either," adds Anna who has been following Elsa and Kristian. "After the way the Duke tried to have Elsa killed and his banishment from Arendelle, I wouldn't think the king would have been very forgiving."

"Him being forgiving might not have a lot to do with his help," suggests Kristian. "I think his desire to reestablish trade with Arendelle has more to do with it. I even have a parchment from the king in my pack that he wants me to give to you."

"I can understand the king's motives, but I thought that you were going to avoid such contact," says Elsa.

"I was trying to avoid as many people as I could, but there were times where contact just couldn't be helped," replies Kristian. "One time just happened to get me face to face with the Duke of Weselton again."

"Oh, not him again," groans Anna. "Every time he gets involved, problems always seem to arise for Elsa and Arendelle."

"Well this time the problem arose with me," replies Kristian. "In simplest terms, the Duke captured me and he brought me in front of the king."

"I hope the Duke didn't treat you too harshly," says a sympathetic Elsa.

"It wasn't pleasant, but at least seeing the Duke being chastised by the King of Weselton made up for it," replies a smiling Kristian.

"I wish that I could have seen that," says a smiling Anna. "That little man needed to be taken down a peg or two."

"Yes, the look of shock on his face was kind of enjoyable," replies Kristian with a smile. "Anyway, the king wanted to make up for the Duke's action so he lent me the use of a horse. I think he also wanted to give a positive impression to Elsa as well. Since Elsa made me a royal emissary."

"Then I am glad that I was able to help you on your journey," says Elsa as she begins to walk to the palace again. "And I will give full consideration to the king's parchment for his favorable treatment of you."

Soon this group enters the front doors of the palace, and Kristian is able to see all the activity going on in the palace. Many decorations are being put up, and royal banners are being displayed everywhere.

"The palace wasn't this done up for the spring festival," says Kristian as he marvels over all the preparations. "You must be trying to make your coronation anniversary into a real important event."

"Yes, I was trying to make the day as special as I possibly could," says Elsa with a big smile.

"Aren't you getting a little full of yourself, Elsa?" asks Kristian with a slight smile. "I mean ya, it is an important day; but so are many other days during the year."

"I wasn't trying to make the day special for me," replies a smiling Elsa. "I was trying to make the day special for Anna and Kristoff."

"Anna and Kristoff?" asks a puzzled Kristian.

"That's right!" chirps Olaf. "Tomorrow's celebration is going to be serving a dual purpose. Tomorrow will also serve as the royal announcement of Anna's and Kristoff's engagement!"

"Anna's engaged? So Kristoff actually proposed then," replies Kristian.

"Yes he sort of did," replies Anna with a grin. "It wasn't in the way that he wanted to propose, but he did manage to get me a beautiful engagement ring." Now Anna holds up her hand to show off the ring.

Kristian looks at the ring on Anna's hand, and he is impressed with the ring. "That's quite the ring Kristoff got you there. It must have taken him a long time to pay for it," says Kristian.

"He did put in a lot of extra time working to pay for this ring," replies Anna. "I would have been happy with a simpler ring, but it is still wonderful to have something to remind me of Kristoff's love."

"You must be really happy for your sister then," says Kristian as he addresses Elsa.

"I'm extremely over joyed for Anna," replies Elsa. "Perhaps I have even been too overjoyed. Just today Anna has told me that I have been putting too much into hers and Kristoff's introduction."

"Well Elsa has always thought of others before herself," interjects Anna. "I wanted to make sure that she knew what tomorrow was all about, her coronation."

"Yep, and that is why tomorrow will be doubly special!" exclaims a cheerful Olaf. "It will be double pleasure and it will be double fun, as two things are celebrated in one!"

Everyone begins to laugh, as Olaf finishes making his statement.

By now it was late in the day, and Kristian spent most of the rest of the day settling back into his room at the palace. Afterwards, Kristian was able to have a pleasant meal with Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff. During the meal, Kristian was able to tell everyone about his journey through the Kingdom of Weselton. Kristian was also able to hear about the events that had unfolded in Arendelle while he was away.

Soon, it was getting late and Kristian had decided to head to bed early. He was still fatigued from his trip, and Goran's curse was not helping matters much either. Once Kristian got to his room in the palace dungeon, he works on getting ready for bed.

One of the first things that Kristian does was to roll up the mattress that was on the stone slab. Kristian knew that the likelihood of him blazing in the night was going to be quite high, and he didn't want to cause more damage than he needed. Next Kristian uses an old blanket to make his bed. The palace has many old blankets, but these blankets were still in very good shape. Finally, Kristian settles down and drifts off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

For most of the night, Kristian slept well and he had pleasant dreams. One of the last dreams that Kristian had was about Elsa. In this dream, Elsa and he were walking through a field of flowers. While walking, Elsa had her arm around Kristian's arm. Every once in a while, Elsa would laugh and Kristian would laugh along with her.

As Elsa and Kristian walk through this field in Kristian's dream, Kristian lifts a hand up and small flames emerge from the petals of the flowers. Shortly, these small flames would lift off the petals and begin to float through the air. Elsa is delighted by the display, and soon she turns towards Kristian and wraps her arms under his shoulders to give Kristian a hug. In return, Kristian hugs Elsa back.

For a short while in the dream, Elsa and Kristian stand like this with the small yellow and orange flames dancing through the air around them. Then they release their embrace and Elsa places a hand into Kristian's hand. When Elsa does this, the yellow and orange flames turn into blue flames. Now it is Kristian's turn to be amazed by the display of blue flames.

This dream was extremely enjoyable for Kristian. However, a wind begins to blow in the dream and soon the blue flames were blown away. In a moment, a fire begins to swirl around Kristian and Elsa.

In response Elsa turns her head into Kristian to slightly protect her face from the heat of the fire. "Kristian!" says a scared Elsa.

Kristian responds by wrapping his arms around Elsa. He also moves one hand up to Elsa's head to help protect her.

A voice is then heard from the swirling fire. "So is this the reason why you refuse to do my bidding?" says the voice of Tollak. "A girl has gotten between you and your duty to your brethren."

"Tollak, you are so off the mark!" shouts Kristian. "You have no idea who this lady truly is!"

"I do not need to know who she is," replies the voice of Tollak.

Then an off shoot from the swirling fire quickly rushes towards Elsa and Kristian. This fire strikes the pair, and it easily spins both of them around. In no time, Elsa is separated from Kristian and she is carried away.

""Kristian!" shouts Elsa as she is carried away from him.

Then Kristian turns towards Elsa and tries to go to her. However, the fires that surround him keep Kristian from going to Elsa. "Elsa!" shouts a worried Kristian.

"All I need to know about her is that you care about her," says the voice of Tollak. Tollak has not yet realized that Elsa and the ice witch are the same person. All he knows are the images that are in Kristian's dreams. "If you destroy the ice witch that took Goran from us, you can have the life that you dream of having with this girl. However, if you refuse to do my bidding, then you shall never be able to be with her."

With this final statement, the image of Elsa is vaporized in a surging fire. "ELSA! NO!" screams Kristian before he starts to cry.

"Become my servant Kristian, and you can be with this woman you love," says the voice Tollak.

In a moment, Kristian's cries of sadness are replaced with bouts of laughter.

"What is with you, Kristian?" asks a puzzled voice of Tollak. "You are willing to give up the love of your life in order to allow this ice witch to survive?"

"Of course," laughs Kristian. "You still don't understand, Tollak! No matter what I do here, I will lose; but if I have to lose, I will do it on my terms!"

You will have no choice, Kristian!" exclaims the voice of Tollak. "You will submit to my will, or you will suffer greatly before your flame of life is extinguished!"

"So be it!" shouts Kristian as his body bursts with flame. Soon the flames begin to grow brighter and hotter.

"What are you doing? Kristian, your defiance is senseless!" exclaims the voice of Tollak. "You will only be hurting yourself!"

"I told you before, Tollak. It will be on my terms. My terms!" exclaims Kristian as his fire surges greatly. Soon Kristian's fire gets to a point where Kristian's own image is vaporized from the dream. Once Kristian's image is vaporized, Kristian wakes up.

As he wakes, Kristian sits up abruptly. He is breathing heavily, and Kristian's powers were active. Flames were appearing all over his body and they were moving up, until they flickered and flared off his shoulders and head. Now that Kristian was awake, he swings his legs off the stone slab and sits there. Kristian is still flaring, but he just lets the flames continue to flare. Right now Kristian is trying to control his breathing, and he is trying to calm down. Soon the flames begin to diminish and eventually they go out.

The next thing that Kristian hears is a question squawk from Mattias. Mattias was in his usual spot on a stone ledge in the room. The firebird was blazing away on his ledge until Kristian was making a commotion. Now Mattias had solidified himself enough where he was nearly entirely in his bird form. However, the flames still flickered off the top of the bird.

After hearing Mattias's squawk, Kristian turns to look at the firebird. "Hey, Mattias," says Kristian. "Ya, I had another bad dream, but I am beginning to think that these aren't dreams or hallucinations anymore. I think that Tollak may have done something to me."

Again Mattias lets out a questioning squawk. "When I met Tollak, he wanted me to serve him," replies Kristian. "And what he wants is the destruction of magical beings with the power over the cold, beings like Elsa."

Now Kristian stands up and he stretches his arms. With a yawn, he turns back towards Mattias. "I don't think that I actually destroyed Tollak back in that cavern," says Kristian. "If that is the case, I don't think that I will ever get a goodnight sleep as long as I remain here in Arendelle. Tollak will just keep pushing me. Still it makes me wonder. With the kind of power that Tollak has, why does he need me to do his dirty work? Why doesn't he come here and do it himself?"

Now Kristian walks over to the small window that was in this cell and looks out. The sun was just starting to come up. As Kristian leans against the wall as he looks out, he lets out a sigh of fatigue. "Well at least it is morning," says Kristian to himself and partly to Mattias. "Most likely Elsa is already up, and I should tell her about my situation and Tollak." Then after a slight pause, Kristian continues. "Yet, today is her coronation day. It should be a happy time for her. Especially since Anna and Kristoff are engaged. I can't burden her with this today. One more day won't matter. Until tomorrow, I should move myself out into the hills, just to be safe."

Just then a knock comes at the door. As Kristian turns to respond to the knock, the door opens. It is Olaf, and he comes walking into the room. "Hey, Kristian!" pipes Olaf. "I see that you are up already."

"Hey, Olaf. Ya, I just had a bit of a rough morning," replies Kristian. So I decided that it was time to get up."

"Oh, I see that you burnt up another blanket," says Olaf as he looks at the stone slab and the ash on top of it. "So do you need me to go fetch you another one?"

"That's OK, Olaf," replies Kristian. "I can fetch one when I head out of the palace."

"Why would you need a blanket on such a warm day?" asks Olaf. "I would think that you would be sweating with a blanket under the sun."

"It's not for the day, Olaf. It is for the night. I'm going to be sleeping out in the hills for a while," replies Kristian.

"What for? Aren't you happy living here in the palace?" asks Olaf.

"Of course I am happy here, but I am also worried," replies Kristian. "I have been having too many accidents lately, and I don't want to accidently damage anything important to Elsa."

"Sure, I can understand that," chirps Olaf. "But don't you think you should be talking with Elsa about this?"

"I will, but today is a special day for Elsa," replies Kristian. "I don't want to ruin it."

"You will ruin her day, if you head out of the palace after the festivities to go to bed," says Olaf. "It would be better if you talk with Elsa before the party, instead of tomorrow to apologies."

For a moment, Kristian just looks at Olaf. Then Kristian lets out a groan before he says, "I hate it when you are right. Fine, I'll talk with Elsa before the party."

"Then let's go talk with her now!" exclaims Olaf. "She will be in the dining room having breakfast."

"Just give me a second, Olaf," replies Kristian. "I've only just gotten up."

"Sure, whenever you are ready," says Olaf. "But if you take too long, we will be running all over the palace to try and chase Elsa down."

A smile comes to Kristian's face as he begins to get ready. "You know something. That may actually be fun," replies a smiling Kristian.

It only takes Kristian a short time to get himself ready; and soon enough, Kristian and Olaf are on their way to Elsa. However, the last thing that Kristian retrieves before they leave was his leather gloves. With the difficulties that Kristian was having, he wanted to have some sort of defense against his magic.

It doesn't take long for Olaf and Kristian to walk to the dining area. Once they reach the room they do find Elsa there. However, Elsa is not alone. By the time that Olaf and Kristian had showed up, Elsa was already done eating; and she was talking with a few members of the palace staff.

As Kristian approaches Elsa, he asks, "Hi Elsa. Is it alright if I have a word with you?"

Elsa then looks over to Kristian and exclaims, "Kristian, I see that you are up. Just give me a moment here and then I can talk with you."

Elsa then goes back to her discussion with these palace staff members. Meanwhile, Kristian takes a seat at the table and a plate of food is placed in front of him by a servant. Meanwhile, Olaf stands next to Kristian and watches Elsa talk with members of the staff.

"Elsa sure seems to be busy right now," says Olaf.

"It doesn't surprise me," replies Kristian. "There are only a few hours before the party begins, and Elsa wants to make sure that everything is organized."

"Ya, but Elsa has had parties in the past; and she has never seemed this busy before," says Olaf.

"I think you can blame this extra attention because of Anna," replies Kristian. "It is not every day that Elsa's sister is going to become engaged. It's also a reason that I don't want to bother Elsa with my problem today."

"Elsa cares about you as much as she cares about Anna," interjects Olaf. "The same effort that she is giving to Anna right now will be the same kind of effort she will be giving to you."

"I know, but Elsa needs this day to be joyous. So does Anna," replies Kristian. "I'd like to make that happen for them."

"But you still are going to tell Elsa about sleeping in the hills right?" asks Olaf.

"You had a valid point about cutting out early to head into the hills," replies Kristian. "So ya, I'm going to tell Elsa about it."

Just about the time that Kristian got done eating, Elsa finishes talking with members of the staff. When she finishes, Elsa comes walking over to the table and sit down across from Kristian. "I'm sorry about that," apologies Elsa. "There is just a lot to get done today to get everything ready for the celebration."

"You don't have to apologies to me," replies Kristian. "I know that today is special to both you and your sister. How can I compete with that?"

"You don't have to compete with anything," replies Elsa a little surprised by Kristian's statement. "I will always try to make time for you. That is why I am taking time now to talk with you. So what is it that you wanted to say?"

"I hate to bother you with this, today; but Olaf said that I should," says Kristian.

"Kristian, you can bother me anytime," replies Elsa. "So what is it that is troubling you?"

"Do you remember yesterday, when I told you that I was having trouble controlling my magic," says Kristian. "Well, I don't think that it will be getting better anytime soon. So for the time being, I thought that I would be sleeping out in the hills for a while."

"Kristian, are you sure your problem warrants this departure?" asks Elsa. "If you are having this difficulty, maybe it would be better if I stayed close to you to put out any accidental fires."

"Elsa, I don't want you to go through any trouble for me, especially today" replies Kristian. "I will be alright for now. It's just that I might be leaving the party early to head out of the village."

"I guess that I can understand your thinking, but I wish you would reconsider," says Elsa. "Hasn't the dungeon cell kept your fire under control? If needed I could spend the night with you."

Kristian smiles as he hears this suggestion from Elsa. "That is an interesting suggestion, but I think for tonight it would be best if I just head out," replies Kristian. "Besides, you will be busy with the celebration; and I really don't want to pull you away from your sister on this occasion."

"If you think that you will be alright, then I will trust your judgment," says a slightly concerned Elsa. "However, if the need arises, I will leave everything to help you in any way that I can."

Kristian smiles, as he replies, "You have already helped me more than I deserve, Elsa. I feel like I am almost taking advantage of you."

Elsa smiles back, as she says, "The duties of a queen are to take care of her subjects, especial ones that are important as you are to me."

"You are important to a lot of people, Kristian," pipes Olaf. "Arendelle would not be the same without you, and I would be without two of my best friends!"

"Two?" asks a puzzled Kristian. I know that I am one, who is the second?"

"Why Mattias of course!" chirps Olaf. "Where you go, so does Mattias!"

"Yes, and I do hope that the both of you will be attending todays festivities," adds a smiling Elsa.

"How can I refuse such a special hostess," replies a grinning Kristian.

Just then one of the servants comes up to Elsa and says, "My lady."

"Yes of course, I will be right there," replies Elsa to the servant. Then turning towards Kristian, Elsa says, "Then I shall see you later today then."

"I certainly hope so," replies Kristian as he gets up from the table. Kristian also gives a wave to Elsa as she leaves, and Elsa gives a wave goodbye back.


	11. Chapter 11

For the rest of the morning, Elsa continues to make sure things are prepared for the festivities. Meanwhile, Kristian also makes his preparations for sleeping out in the countryside. As these two go about their business, Anna has gotten up as well. She is all excited about today. For the last two weeks, Elsa and Anna have been working hard to make the official announcement of Anna's and Kristoff's engagement a special event.

Now Anna is bouncing around the palace as she checks out all the things that are going on. On one of her stops, Anna runs into Elsa. "Elsa! Isn't it a wonderful day for the celebration?" exclaims Anna.

"Indeed it is," replies Elsa. "The day is beautiful, but what are more important are the people that will make it wonderful."

Well of course you make it wonderful, but you make every day that way," says a smiling Anna. "However today, Kristoff is going to make this day amazing!"

"I am pleased with how this day is going for me as well," replies a smiling Elsa. "Not only will I be able to share my coronation day with my sister, but Kristian will be here as well."

"I guess we both have something to be happy about," giggles Anna.

"Yes, but I do have one slight concern. Kristian's magic is acting up," replies Elsa.

"Is it serious?" asks Anna.

"I don't know," replies Elsa. "Kristian is acting like it's not a big a deal, but I hope that he is not down playing it for my sake."

"He probably doesn't want to worry you about it today," says Anna. "Besides if it was really a problem, Kristian would not be here at the palace would he."

"Your right, Kristian wouldn't be here if he thought that he was a danger," replies Elsa.

"Good, then can we just enjoy this day?" asks a smiling Anna.

"Oh, we will enjoy this day no matter what happens," replies a smiling Elsa. "Tomorrow, I can inquire in more depth the exact state that Kristian is in. However, you and I need to get ourselves ready for the party. It is only a few hours left before our guests will start to show up."

"It's that late already!" exclaims Anna. Then she starts to run. "I don't want to show up only half dressed!"

Elsa begins to laugh at Anna's frantic dash, as she herself slowly walks back to her room.

In a little over an hour, people start to gather in the courtyard of the palace. One of the latter arrivals to the palace just happens to be Kristoff. Kristoff is exquisitely dressed, and he is feeling uncomfortable in these clothes in front of all these people. As Kristoff crosses the courtyard to the palace, he can feel the gaze of many people on him. Soon Kristoff is about to enter the main doors, when he hears some of the people in the courtyard applaud. So Kristoff turns around and sees many people looking at him and applauding. They were applauding for him. Kristoff is embarrassed by this attention, and he sheepishly waves to the crowd. Suddenly, the crowd's applause gets louder and Kristoff gets a little redder. Then almost at that same instant, Anna shows up and wraps her arm around Kristoff's arm.

"I thought that I heard you show up," says Anna as she gives a wave to the gathering crowd.

"Anna! Am I glad to see you here," says Kristoff relieved to see her. "These people are applauding for me!"

"Of course they are!" giggles Anna as she leads Kristoff into the palace. "Many people already know what is going to happen today. If you thought that applause was something, wait until Elsa gives our official introduction to everyone. Then you will know what a real applause is all about."

"Oh, great, like I don't have anything else to be really concerned about right now," says an uneasy Kristoff.

Anna begins to laugh. Then she says, "Oh, it won't be that bad. There is only going to be one main dance where we will be the centers of attention. The rest of the time it will be about the party and Elsa."

"Part of me almost wants this party to be over. So that things may return somewhat to normal," says Kristoff.

Things may settle back a bit, but I don't think things will ever really get back to normal for you or me," giggles Anna. "After today, we will officially be engaged."

"That part I don't mind," replies a smiling Kristoff. "It's all this attention that I don't care for."

"Does that include my attention as well?" says Anna with a smile.

"Your attention I enjoy having," says Kristoff as he takes a hold of Anna's shoulders. Then Kristoff bends down and gives Anna a kiss.

"Mmm, good," quietly says Anna after they were done kissing. Then after a moment, the announcement trumpets sound. "Oh, it is beginning!" says Anna excitedly. We got to hurry and catch up with Elsa!"

So Anna takes a hold of Kristoff's hand, and she begins to pull him along. In no time, Anna and Kristoff find Elsa as she heads towards the main doors. "I see that you managed to get yourself dressed, Anna," amuses Elsa.

"I couldn't allow myself to be outshone by you," says Anna with a smile. Then Anna looks around a bit before she says, "So I've got my significant other. Where is yours?"

"I'm over here!" says Kristian from across the room, as he approaches the group.

As Kristian approaches, the others can see that he is wearing clean simple attire and a pair of leather gloves. "Is that all you are wearing?" asks Anna as Kristian nears.

"What's wrong with what I am wearing?" asks a puzzled Kristian.

"This is a special day so I thought that you would be wearing something special," replies Anna.

"This is as close to special as I get," says Kristian cheekily. "I don't have anything fancier."

Some concern appears on Anna's face, but before she can say anything Elsa speaks. "Anna, his clothing is just fine," says a smiling Elsa. "I wouldn't have cared if Kristian had showed up in his soiled working clothes, just as long as he is here. That is all that matters."

"If you think that it is alright," replies a slightly skeptical Anna. "Personally, I would have liked to see Kristian done up like the rest of the palace."

"You always did like to over romanticize things," says a smiling Elsa. "Where, I would prefer to find a more normal style of life."

"There is nothing wrong with trying to make things splendid," replies Anna with some objection.

"No, there is nothing wrong with it," says Elsa still smiling. "However, the people in one's life make things more wonderful than any shiny item ever could."

"OK, OK. Just as long as you are happy," replies Anna.

"I don't see how I cannot be," says Elsa. "I have the three most important people in my life, with me on this special occasion."

Soon the royal family of Arendelle exits out the main doors of the palace to address the gathered crowd. The first to exit is Anna hanging onto Kristoff's arm. Anna gives a wave to the applauding crowd and Kristoff also gives an awkward wave. Anna then giggles slightly at Kristoff's awkwardness, and the she pulls him off to the side.

As Anna was moving Kristoff, Elsa comes walking out of the main doors. A few feet behind her is Kristian. As Elsa comes into view, the crowd applauds louder. Soon Elsa comes to a stop to address the crowd; and Kristian moves off to the side, so that he is not in the main sight of people as they are looking at Elsa.

"Thank you all for coming, and for giving my sister and me a warm welcome," says Elsa as she addresses the crowd. "Today represents the end of my first full year as your queen, a year full of many challenges and rewards for all of us. None of which would have come if it had not been for your former king who was my father. His protection allowed me to grow up in the safety of Arendelle. Yet, while he was important in all of our lives, no one can forget about the courage that my sister Princess Anna had shown one year ago. Her willingness to not give up on me and her courage to protect me from the 13th son of the Southern Isles is what has brought me here to be your queen. I will always love her and I will never forget what she has done for me, just like I will always love Arendelle and all of you for your acceptance of me."

Then applause and cheers rises from the gathered crowd. As this happens, Elsa turns towards Anna and gives her applause as well. In response, Anna blushes and curtsies. Then Anna waves to the crowd, before she nods in the direction of Elsa.

"Still even with the assistance of Anna and all of you, I would have not made it a full year if it was not for the efforts of another person. Someone who eventually came to my defense and the defense of Arendelle against the efforts put into motion by the Duke of Weselton. He has just returned yesterday from a journey, and he has decided to become part of the Kingdom of Arendelle. He is a new friend to me and to Arendelle. Many of you recognize him already as Kristian," states Elsa as she gestures towards Kristian at the end of her speech.

Another round of applause comes from the crowd, and Kristian steps forward to give a wave. Kristian is embarrassed by this acknowledgment, but he goes forward with the acceptance of the crowd's applause. Then after giving his wave, Kristian turns towards Elsa and gives her a silly scowl as he shakes his head in a slightly negative fashion.

Elsa laughs at Kristian's response. Then a loud screech is heard coming from a bird. Everyone turns and looks; and what they see is Mattias perched up on the courtyard wall, flapping his wings. "Of course, I can't forget about Mattias and Olaf as well," says Elsa with a smile. "None of this would be possible without either one of them."

Then Olaf comes bounding out of the crowd, and he happily hops up next to Elsa and gives a vigorous wave to the gathered crowd of people, as they applaud. Then he turns to Elsa and says, "I'm just happy to be of help," chirps Olaf.

Elsa smiles down at the snowman, and she gives him a nod before she walks out into the crowd. As Elsa nears the center of the courtyard, she addresses the people again. "Now I know that all of you are waiting for what I will attempt to accomplish today," says Elsa. "And I hope that I won't disappoint you."

Now Elsa looks in one direction, and a space is cleared by a few servants. Then an ice and snow column begins to grow from the cobblestones. Then three more spaces are cleared, and three more columns begin to grow. These columns continue to grow. Then arches begin to form between the tops of the columns. Once these arches are complete, the structure stands in a perfect square shape with the aches following the outside of the square. Then in the middle of this open structure, two crossing arches begin to form. Then from the apex, an ice chandelier forms and hangs below this apex. This chandelier catches the sun's rays, and it glows brightly.

"There," says a satisfied Elsa. "Now all guests are welcome to partake in today's festivities. The palace is open to all guests as everything is prepared for you."

With her speech complete, Elsa walks back to the main doors. As she nears the entrance, Elsa makes a motion to Kristian; and Kristian walks over to Elsa. Then they walk side by side with about a foot between them, as the walk into the palace. Then Anna and Kristoff follow Elsa and Kristian in, and Anna still has her arm wrapped around Kristoff's arm.

For most of the beginning of the celebration, things went smoothly. The musicians played and people danced. Among those that went out on the dance floor was Anna and Kristoff. Meanwhile, Elsa and Kristian stood next to each other and watched the festivities in the room.

Many people would come up to Elsa and offer their congratulations to her on her one year anniversary. During one of the lulls in the well wishes, Kristian says, "You certainly enjoy throwing a party. This one appears to be the best one I have seen since I have been living here."

"It is the best way that I have found to share my gift with the people of Arendelle," replies a smiling Elsa. "It has also allowed me to interact with people in a more friendly way. Still, I might have gone overboard a little on this one."

"I don't think anyone is really complaining about the extra effort," says a smiling Kristian.

"No, I guess that they wouldn't be complaining," giggles Elsa. "Why would anyone complain about having a little extra fun?"

"And what about you? Are you enjoying yourself here?" asks Kristian.

Elsa is a bit surprised by Kristian's questions, and she looks at him with some disbelief. "Yes, I am enjoying myself. Why do you ask?" replies Elsa.

"I know that I have disappointed you with the problem that I am having," says Kristian. "I also know that you would like to be out on that dance floor instead of standing here just talking to me."

Now Elsa turns fully to face Kristian. Then she says, "Kristian, I won't deny that the fact that we cannot touch right now is disappointing, but that disappointment is minor. I originally thought that you were not going to be here, but now you are. Even if all we can do is just talk, I will be happy with just doing that."

"Still, I feel like that I have let you down," replies Kristian.

"Nonsense! Just having you here is all I really wanted from you, and you have easily fulfilled that," states Elsa lightly.

"I still feel like that I should be doing more," replies Kristian. Then Kristian walks out to the dance floor, and then he turns around. Then as he raises his gloved hand up towards Elsa, Kristian says, "May I offer her majesty a dance."

Elsa then walks up to Kristian; and with her hands held down in front of her, says, "What about your difficulty controlling your magic powers? Are you sure you want to risk aggravating them?"

"Elsa, I am feeling pretty good right now. So I believe that I can risk a little contact," replies Kristian. "So if you want to dance, I am offering. "

Elsa hesitates for a moment. Then she reaches out and takes the gloved hand of Kristian. "Very well, my fire prince, I will accept your offer," says Elsa cheekily.

Kristian grins as he leads Elsa out to the dance floor, where they begin to dance with each other. Elsa is careful where she places her hands. She doesn't want to cause an unwanted reaction in Kristian's magic. So Elsa avoids making contact with any area of skin or thin cloth. Still, with Kristian wearing his gloves, he is able to hold Elsa close to him. This pleases Elsa very much.

For a while, both Elsa and Kristian enjoy this closeness. It had been six weeks since they both were able to hold each other like this, even with a sense of danger that now exists between them. Still this sense of danger actually made this dance even more exciting. However, this enjoyment for Kristian was not going to last.

As Kristian and Elsa dance, Kristian begins to see the flaming image of Tollak in the crowd. Tollak's image would appear and then it would disappear. This reappearance of Tollak's image begins to stress Kristian out. So Kristian closes his eyes and he inhales deeply. Since he was holding Elsa when he did this, Kristian could smell the sweet perfume that Elsa was wearing. This fragrance brought a smile to his face and eased the troubled thoughts that he was having.

Since Elsa was dancing with Kristian, she notices this odd behavior. "Kristian; is everything all right?" asks Elsa.

Kristian then opens his eyes and smiles at Elsa. "I hope that everything is all right," replies Kristian. "But you definitely smell wonderful."

"I smell like this all the time," says Elsa with a smile.

"I know, but you don't know how much this smell means to me right now," replies Kristian with a smile. "It's helping me to coup with my current situation."

"It's acting up?" asks a concerned Elsa.

"Some, but I have got it under control again," replies Kristian.

"Then perhaps we should stop," suggests Elsa as she lets go of Kristian and takes a step back from him. "I would hate to cause another incident like we had yesterday on the pier."

"I can agree with that, but I did enjoy our dance," replies Kristian. "I kind of missed holding you, and I hope that it won't be too long before that I can hold you again."

"I enjoyed our dance as well," adds Elsa. "However, even if we are limited for some time in physical contact, I still will enjoy the time that I am able to spend with you."

As Elsa and Kristian walk off the dance floor, one of the head servants of the palace comes up to Elsa. "My lady, it is time for the announcement," says the servant as he takes a bow.

"Thank you, I will be there shortly," says Elsa to the servant. Then Elsa turns to Kristian and says with a smile, "It's time to make the announcement official. So if you don't mind, I must momentarily take my leave of you."

"Of course, this is also a special day for Anna," replies Kristian. "I wouldn't want to stand in between you and the introduction you are going to make for your sister."

With Kristian's approval, Elsa begins to walk up to the throne area in the room. Once there, Elsa nods to a nearby servant; and that servant gives a signal to some trumpeters. These trumpeters then blow their horns to indicate that the queen wants the crowd's attention.

Once the trumpets have sounded, everyone in the room turns to look at Elsa. Then Elsa addresses the crowd. "Once again I thank all of you for being here today for the anniversary of my one year reign. However, today is also going to represent another important event for Arendelle. As many of you already know, this celebration is also for the announcement of the engagement of two important people in my life. The first person I will introduce is my sister, Anna, Princess of Arendelle."

With this introduction, Anna comes forward while the crowd applauds. When Anna reaches Elsa she is directed to the left side of her sister. As she stands there, Anna cannot help but giggle as she waves to the audience.

"Now for the gentleman who has asked for the hand of Princess Anna in marriage," says Elsa as she smiles with delight. "I present Kristoff, the Ice Master of Arendelle."

Now Kristoff walks forward as the crowd once again applauds. As Kristoff nears, he is directed to stand on the right side of Elsa. As Kristoff stands there, his mind is swirling with emotions. There is embarrassment for standing in front of all these people, but there is also joy and pride for he is going to be marrying Anna.

As the applause dies down, Elsa steps forward and reaches a hand out to Anna. Anna then reaches out and places her hand in Elsa's. Then Elsa stretches her other hand out to Kristoff and Kristoff reaches out and places his hand on Elsa's. Now Elsa pulls their hands together and places Anna's hand into Kristoff's hand. As she does this, Elsa still holds onto the joined hands of Kristoff and Anna.

While holding onto Kristoff's and Anna's hands, Elsa says, "As the Queen of Arendelle, I give my blessing to this union of Anna and Kristoff. So I am proud to introduce to all of you; Princess Anna and Sir Kristoff, the future Prince of Arendelle."

With this last statement, the crowd applauds and cheers as Elsa lets go of Anna's and Kristoff's joined hands. Then Anna and Kristoff step forward, and they wave to the cheering crowd. As they wave, Elsa begins to create a decorative archway out of ice over the top of Anna and Kristoff.

As the archway is created, both Kristoff and Anna look up. They stand and watch the last of the archway being made. "I thought you two were not going to go overboard on this affair," says Kristoff as he marvels at the intricate design of the archway.

"I can't help this," says Anna with a smile. "Elsa wants to make this day remarkable for me, and I am willing to allow her to do it." Yet, Anna still turns to look at Elsa. When their eyes meet, Anna grins, wrinkles up her nose, and gives her head a slight shake. When Elsa sees this, she just giggles at the expression that Anna was making.

Once the applause dies down, a servant steps forward and makes an announcement. "Princess Anna and Sir Kristoff are now invited to lead everyone in their first dance of being declared a royal couple."

Now Anna and Kristoff walk out onto the dance floor as the musicians start to play. Anna is smiling brightly as she looks back and forth between the crowd and Kristoff. Meanwhile, Kristoff is also smiling; and he is also walking like and embarrassed peacock, proud yet awkward.

Once they reach the middle of the floor, Anna and Kristoff turn towards each other and begin to dance. They are alone on the dance floor as the musicians play. As they dance, Elsa begins to make a light glittering snow fall from the ceiling. An intricate pattern of snow also begins to swirl along the ceiling as the couple dances.

Everyone, that sees this spectacle, is delighted by the event. Meanwhile, Anna and Kristoff are engrossed with each other, and they do not pay any attention of what is going on around them. Even Elsa is beaming with joy at the beautiful sight of Anna dancing with Kristoff. However, the only one that is not pleased by these events is Kristian.

During the couple's announcement, Kristian was enjoying the ceremony. However, a problem started to arise when Elsa began to use her magic powers. The first think that began to happen was that certain people in the crowd began to turn into the image of Tollak. Then they would turn back into their normal form. Kristian tried to ignore these hallucinations and focus on Kristoff and Anna. For a while, Kristian could ignore the image of Tollak. However, things started to get worse when Elsa began to cause the snow to fall from the ceiling. Instead of one image of Tollak appearing several images started to show up in the crowd.

"The witch is present, Kristian. I can sense the use of her powers" says the voice of Tollak. "Slay her before she realizes your presence here."

"No, Tollak," replies Kristian as he tries to keep himself under control. "She is not my enemy."

"All beings with power over the cold are your enemies, Kristian," says the voice of Tollak. "She will destroy you with in a second of finding out what you really are. You must act first."

"You're wrong, Tollak; because she already knows what I am," replies Kristian with a strain in his voice as he works to prevent a flare up.

"What?!" exclaims the voice of Tollak. "The ice witch is just using you! You are nothing but a tool for her to use and then toss away! All she is doing is making herself more powerful! Slay her and free yourself from her restraints!

"No," says Kristian with a hiss as flames begin to flicker out the top of his gloves. "I won't destroy her for you."

"I don't think you will have a choice in the matter," says the voice of Tollak. "Either you destroy her or she will destroy you. When your fire surges and attacks her, this ice witch will destroy you."

With this last statement, Kristian jerks out of pain as the fire emanating from the top of his gloves begins to crawl up his arms. Elsa, who was still busy doing her display for Anna's and Kristoff's dance, notices this odd movement of Kristian out of the corner of her eye. As Elsa now focuses her attention on Kristian, she sees him begin to run towards the doors that leave the hall. Elsa can also see the flames crawling up his arms. Some people even gasp out of fear as Kristian runs past them.

"Kristian!" exclaims Elsa as she begins to run towards him.

"Elsa, no!" shouts Kristian as he momentarily stops at the doors. As he does this, Kristian cries out in pain; and then his body temporarily erupts with a mass of flame. This fire causes people to scream and run away from Kristian, and the doors to the hall catch fire as well. As the flames subside on Kristian, he turns and opens the burning doors. Then he continues to run outside.

As Kristian heads outside, Elsa stops following him. Right now, Elsa's attention is on the fires that are burning inside the palace. By using her magic powers, Elsa quickly extinguishes the fires by covering the flames in a layer of snow and ice. As Elsa is putting out these fires, Anna and Kristoff come up behind her.

"Elsa, what is going on?" asks a worried Anna.

"It's Kristian! I don't think he can control his magic!" exclaims Elsa as the last fires are put out. "He needs me, and I will do all that I can to help him!"

While Elsa was dealing with these unwanted fires, Kristian has exited into the courtyard. As Kristian momentarily stops in the courtyard, people look at him with worry. Right now, Kristian has small flames crawling all over his body; and these flames were acting very erratically.

"Please, everyone just keep back!" exclaims Kristian. Then after saying this, Kristian's body once again flares up briefly.

Some people scream; and everyone quickly moves away from Kristian, except for one person. Olaf was outside playing with the children, and he comes running forward towards Kristian.

"Kristian, what's wrong?" asks Olaf as he comes to a stop a few feet in front of Kristian.

"I can't control it anymore, Olaf," replies Kristian as he strains to try and prevent the flare ups. "I need to get out of Arendelle for everyone's sake."

"Don't worry, I'll lead the way!" exclaims Olaf. Then Olaf turns around and yells, "Clear the way! My friend Kristian is having difficulty, and he needs to get out of Arendelle!"

Soon, the crowd outside begins to part and a path is cleared to the palace bridge. Then Olaf and Kristian begin to walk through the parted crowd. As Kristian walks, he looks at the people on both sides of him. He can see the fear in their eyes, but Kristian can also see the concern on their faces.

"I'm sorry," says Kristian to some of the people that he passes.

Olaf, who was just a few feet in front of Kristian, turns and says, "There is nothing to be sorry about, Kristian. You are sick, and once we get you to a safe location, we will find you some help to get you better."

Just as Kristian and Olaf make it to about the center of the courtyard, Elsa comes out of the palace. She is followed there by Anna and Kristoff.

"Kristian!" exclaims Elsa as she sees the unstable state that he is in. "Let me help you!"

Kristian turns around and replies, "No, Elsa! You can't help me! I just need to get away from Arendelle!"

"Please Kristian, just let me help you," says Elsa as she walks towards Kristian. "I know that I will be able to suppress your flames until we can find a solution to your problem."

"Elsa, you don't understand!" exclaims Kristian. "You are causing the problem! He knows that you are near me!"

"I don't understand," says a puzzled Elsa as she continues to move closer to Kristian. "How can I be causing it, and who knows that I am here?"

His name is Tollak," replies Kristian as he continues to try and control his powers. Then Kristian begins to feel a surge in his power. "Elsa, STOP! He wants me to destroy you!"

Suddenly an energy surge is seen coming out of Kristian before it enters the cobblestones. This energy can be seen quickly crossing the courtyard until it is under Elsa. Then this energy spreads out in a circular area under Elsa. All of this happens very rapidly and no one has any time to respond to it. Suddenly, this energy erupts upward in a torrent of fire. In an instant, Elsa vanishes from view in the center of the surging fire.

When seeing this, Anna cries out, "ELSA!"

"NO!" cries out Kristian as Elsa is enveloped in the surging fire. Then a second fire begins to surge out of Kristian's body, and he then collapses onto the ground. Kristian is now unconscious. This fire still flares around Kristian and it slowly begin to spread across the cobblestones.

As Kristian falls to the ground, a sudden surge of snow begins to form in the middle of the fire that enveloped Elsa. In a few moments this snow overpowers the fire and a sudden cold blast of air is felt by everyone in the courtyard. Elsa has managed to extinguish the fire that had engulfed her.

Now Elsa looks over in the direction of Kristian and sees the spreading fire. Once again Elsa unleashes her magic powers, and the fire that surrounds Kristian is extinguished. However, fire still flares from his unconscious body. With the main fires now out, Elsa runs over to the side of Kristian and kneels down next to him. However, the fire on Kristian's body surges upward as Elsa nears.

"Elsa, watch out!" exclaims Anna as she comes running up behind her sister. "Kristian could hurt you!"

"Not intentionally he won't, and I can tolerate fire better than most," replies Elsa. "And despite the risk, I will do all that I can to help Kristian."

Now Elsa turns back towards Kristian, and she starts to reach her hand down into the fire to touch him. Just as her hand enters the flames, the fire surges towards Elsa and engulfs her. As the fire surrounds her, Elsa cries out in pain; but she continues to move her hand down towards Kristian. Soon Elsa's hand makes contact with Kristian shoulder, and she begins to push her magic around the outside of Kristian's body. The fire, that Kristian is emitting, sparks and tries to flare; but it soon is extinguished like all the other fires.

With the fire out; Anna, Olaf, and Kristoff come closer and look down at Kristian. "Elsa, his face!" exclaims Anna. What Anna sees is red lines crossing Kristian's face.

"I know. I have seen this before on Goran," replies Elsa. "It means that Kristian's magic is beginning to overpower his body."

Now while keeping her hand on Kristian's shoulder, with her other hand, Elsa creates a stretcher made of ice underneath Kristian. "Kristian needs to be taken to his room," loudly states Elsa to the surrounding people.

Kristoff is the first one to step forward. "I'll lend a hand," says Kristoff as he moves to one corner of the stretcher.

Shortly, three other men come forward. Then all four men bend down and pick the stretcher up. As Kristian is carried into the palace, Elsa continues to keep her hand on Kristian's shoulder to keep his fire at bay. Once Kristian is brought to his room in the dungeon, the stretcher is place down on the stone slab that acts as Kristian's bed. Finally Elsa removes her hand from Kristian, and Kristian's fire reignites and the stretcher melts from underneath him.

As Elsa takes a few steps away from Kristian, Anna comes up to her sister. "So what do we do now?" asks Anna. "We can't leave Kristian in this state, but neither can you constantly keep his fire out."

"We need to find some answers and some help," replies Elsa as she watches Kristian lay on his bed. "And there is only one person that I know of, that could have the answers to help Kristian."

"You are talking about Grand Pabbie," says Kristoff.

"Yes, Grand Pabbie has the knowledge that we need to help Kristian," replies Elsa. "Kristoff, I need you to go to Grand Pabbie to seek his help. I need to stay here to counteract anything that might arise with Kristian's magic."

"I'll head out at once, but it might be a while before I can return," says Kristoff.

"Then move quickly," replies Elsa. "I don't know how long I will be able to contain Kristian's magic before I have to do something drastic."

"At once, your majesty," says Kristoff as he bows. Then he starts to head out the door.

"Wait, Kristoff! I'm coming with you!" exclaims Anna as she follows Kristoff out the door.

"Anna, that is not necessary. I can go to the trolls on my own," says Kristoff after he turns to look at Anna.

"I know you can, but there is nothing for me to do here but worry," replies Anna. "At least I will be doing something if I go with you."

"You should really stay here to give Elsa some help and some moral support," responds Kristoff.

"I can stay here and help Elsa!" exclaims Olaf as he comes walking out of Kristian's room. "Besides, there is a whole palace full of people here to give us help, so Anna can just as well go with you."

"See, things are well in hand here," says Anna. Then Anna begins to walk past Kristoff, as she says, "Let's get going then. The sooner we leave the sooner we will get back."

"But…," begins to say Kristoff, but he does not know how to finish the sentence.

"You better get going, Kristoff," says Olaf. "Otherwise, Anna will be half way there before you get moving."

Then Anna shouts from down the hall. "Kristoff, are you coming?"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" shouts Kristoff as he runs after Anna.

As Anna and Kristoff head off to see Grand Pabbie, Olaf returns to Elsa's side in Kristian's room. "Anna and Kristoff are on their way," says Olaf as he stands next to Elsa. "So how is Kristian doing?"

"I don't know how Kristian is doing," replies Elsa. "He hasn't woken yet, and he is still flaring a little. I don't want to use my magic to put the flames out, because I might only aggravate his problem."

"So then, what are you going to do?" then asks Olaf.

"I'm going to do nothing for now, except pray," replies Elsa. "Hopefully Grand Pabbie can help Kristian before I have to do something drastic."


End file.
